Insider Selling: Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Director Sells $1,677,409.50 in Stock

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 164,775 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.18, for a total transaction of $1,677,409.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 1.8%

PTEN stock opened at $10.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.66 and a beta of 0.71. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.10 and a 12 month high of $11.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 1.94% and a negative return on equity of 1.50%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This is an increase from Patterson-UTI Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -160.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PTEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down from $7.00) on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.11.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 360.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,862 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 127.3% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,970 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 3,343 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 5,554 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 187.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,591 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 4,299 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

More Patterson-UTI Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Patterson-UTI Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple quarterly and annual EPS estimates for PTEN, trimming expected losses (examples: FY2026 from ($0.40) to ($0.39); FY2027 from ($0.31) to ($0.28); FY2028 from ($0.14) to ($0.12)). The upgrades signal modestly improved near‑term profitability expectations and likely helped buying interest. MarketBeat: PTEN Research Note
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: PTEN declared a higher quarterly payout (raised from $0.08 to $0.10), creating a ~3.7% yield on the current share price — this supports demand from income-focused investors and can underpin the stock. MarketBeat: Dividend Notice
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high (nearly 98%) with several large funds adjusting positions (Dimensional, American Century, State Street, Goldman Sachs noted as active). Heavy institutional ownership can reduce volatility but also concentrates supply if funds rebalance. MarketBeat: Institutional Holders
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed: recent price-targets and ratings range from sell/underweight to buy/outperform. The consensus remains a “Hold” with an average target near $8, implying limited upside from some desks. MarketBeat: Analyst Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Director Robert Wayne Drummond Jr. sold 164,775 shares on March 16 (~$1.68M at ~$10.18/share). Large director sales can trigger negative headlines and add near‑term supply pressure even if for diversification or tax reasons. SEC Form 4: Insider Sale

About Patterson-UTI Energy

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company’s core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.