Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 6,394,288 Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,394,288 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,817,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.64% of Patterson-UTI Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $84,375,000 after buying an additional 8,254,137 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $182,518,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123,659 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the fourth 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. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $118,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,636,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $79,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,094 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $5.66 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $5.53 and a one year high of $12.65. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.29 and a beta of 1.99.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.54.

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.