Patterson-UTI Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 32,699 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,343% compared to the average volume of 2,266 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PTEN. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $6.00 price target (down from $7.00) on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.11.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $11.36 on Friday. Patterson-UTI Energy has a fifty-two week low of $5.10 and a fifty-two week high of $11.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.44 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.09. The company 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) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Patterson-UTI Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -160.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 164,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.18, for a total value of $1,677,409.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 169,995 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after buying an additional 32,622 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 231,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,904,000 after buying an additional 10,142 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,747,463 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,024,000 after acquiring an additional 220,422 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 864,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,106,000 after acquiring an additional 30,217 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.