Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Trading Down 7.1% – Here’s What Happened

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) shares were down 7.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $5.94 and last traded at $5.9350. Approximately 5,940,363 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 10,737,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PTEN. Piper Sandler began coverage on Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $6.00 price target (down from $7.00) on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, October 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.39.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 6.6%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.87. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of -16.58 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 21st. The oil and gas company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 2.81% and a negative return on equity of 2.65%. The company had revenue of $191.70 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -88.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 64.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 126,592 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 49,443 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,346,541 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,069,000 after acquiring an additional 25,345 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 29,845 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,465,001 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,042,000 after purchasing an additional 10,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 587.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 75,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 64,383 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.