Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Down 16% – What’s Next?

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) shares were down 16% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $7.25 and last traded at $7.19. Approximately 1,526,245 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,302,349 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PTEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.28 and a 200-day moving average of $8.21. The stock has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.83 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total transaction of $357,265.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,443.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

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.