Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target Lowered to $17.00 at Evercore ISI

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its target price reduced by Evercore ISI from $18.00 to $17.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Benchmark downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $16.08.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ PTEN traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,862,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,065,444. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52 week low of $9.70 and a 52 week high of $16.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 2.23.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 7.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $2,204,254.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 26,298 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 66.5% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Clarus Group Inc. boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Clarus Group Inc. now owns 46,123 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 99,484 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.