Morgan Stanley Cuts Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target to $9.00

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on PTEN. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $8.19 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 1.99. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1-year low of $7.03 and a 1-year high of $12.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.20.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,562,824.96. This represents a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total transaction of $357,265.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at $634,224.50. This trade represents a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTEN. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,146,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,472,000 after buying an additional 265,714 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 175,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 60,900 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 262.6% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 43,618 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 31,589 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.