UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Stock

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its target price upped by analysts at UBS Group from $13.00 to $13.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. UBS Group‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.35% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Friday, August 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.64.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

PTEN stock opened at $13.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1 year low of $5.24 and a 1 year high of $13.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.89 and a 200 day moving average of $10.52. The company has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -222.00 and a beta of 0.79.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The oil and gas company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.03. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 0.52% and a negative return on equity of 0.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.10) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. sold 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.91, for a total value of $2,977,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,042,474 shares in the company, valued at $24,325,865.34. The trade was a 10.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Seth Wexler sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.75, for a total transaction of $1,530,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 404,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,158,420.50. The trade was a 22.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,027,000 shares of company stock worth $12,698,780. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.7% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 85,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 7,600 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $471,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 51,413 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.3% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 50,263 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 14,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 48,047 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc is an oilfield services company that provides drilling, completion and production-related services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. Its operations are primarily focused on onshore oil and gas development in the United States.

The company provides contract land drilling services through a fleet of rigs, as well as directional drilling and related technologies used to guide wellbores. Patterson-UTI also offers pressure pumping and hydraulic fracturing, wireline, well-completion, equipment rental and other services that support the development and maintenance of unconventional wells.

Patterson-UTI expanded its completion-services business through its 2023 merger with NexTier Oilfield Solutions.