Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 32,419 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 240% compared to the average daily volume of 9,545 put options.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ PTEN traded down $0.31 on Thursday, reaching $11.22. The stock had a trading volume of 2,146,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,480,714. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12-month low of $9.70 and a 12-month high of $16.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.61.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 5.94%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is currently 31.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PTEN shares. StockNews.com lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $2,204,254.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the third quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 320.7% in the first quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 2,091 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 635.8% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,002 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 350.7% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,263 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,539 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.