Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 30,414,994 shares, a decline of 26.7% from the February 26th total of 41,466,379 shares. Approximately 8.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 12,796,477 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 2.7%

PTEN stock opened at $11.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.02. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12 month low of $5.10 and a 12 month high of $11.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.20 and a beta of 0.71.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. 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 currently -160.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. 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 note on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Citigroup increased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 164,775 shares of the firm’s 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,465,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $112,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,102 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 15,599,294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $80,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135,704 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,265,086 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $93,270,000 after acquiring an additional 75,560 shares during the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% during the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 13,803,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $81,856,000 after purchasing an additional 7,205,652 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,559,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,517,000 after purchasing an additional 5,551,276 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.