Insider Selling: Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Director Sells 48,149 Shares of Stock

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 85,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

James Carl Stewart also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, December 18th, James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total transaction of $588,800.00.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PTEN traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $7.80. The stock had a trading volume of 17,720,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,780,498. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.16 and a beta of 1.99. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.03 and a 12-month high of $12.65.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.96%.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,443.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,218 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.63.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of contract drilling services to oil and natural gas operators in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Drilling Services, Completion Services, and Drilling Products. The Contract Drilling Services segment provides contract and directional drilling services in onshore oil and natural gas basins, as well as engages in the service and re-certification of equipment for drilling contractors, and provision of electrical controls and automation to the energy, marine and mining industries.