Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. $PTEN

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 92.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,515,581 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,093,636 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $52,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. Sourcerock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% during the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 13,803,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $81,856,000 after purchasing an additional 7,205,652 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 176.6% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 9,228,022 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,801,000 after purchasing an additional 5,891,956 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 121.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 8,320,544 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $50,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,558,445 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 97.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 8,989,351 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,565,000 after purchasing an additional 4,442,700 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 444.2% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,020,212 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,910,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465,209 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cesar Jaime sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.29, for a total transaction of $122,900.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 77,462 shares in the company, valued at $952,007.98. This trade represents a 11.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.85, for a total transaction of $2,962,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,823,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,453,770.55. The trade was a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 808,949 shares of company stock worth $9,387,035 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PTEN. Capital One Financial upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $12.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.80.

Patterson-UTI Energy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Patterson-UTI Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised earnings estimates across multiple periods, including FY2026-FY2028, and now sees PTEN reaching positive EPS by FY2028. The firm also keeps a Strong-Buy rating, which is a bullish signal for investors. Zacks estimate revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from equal weight to overweight and lifted its price target to $15, suggesting analysts see further upside from recent levels. Barclays upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: PTEN reported April drilling activity of 88 average U.S. rigs operating. This indicates steady operations, but it is mostly a routine update and does not by itself change the earnings outlook. Drilling activity report
• Negative Sentiment: Director Cesar Jaime sold 10,000 shares on May 5, which can weigh on sentiment because insider selling sometimes raises questions about management confidence. SEC filing

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $11.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.84 and a beta of 0.64. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $5.10 and a one year high of $12.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $10.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 2.56% and a negative return on equity of 2.32%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s revenue was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -129.03%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company’s core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.