Comerica Bank Increases Stock Holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 383,281 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,433 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $3,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. Gallo Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $800,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $158,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 60,887 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth $110,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,288,829 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,426,000 after purchasing an additional 170,417 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of PTEN opened at $5.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.26 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.79. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.12 and a twelve month high of $11.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.04. Patterson-UTI Energy had a positive return on equity of 0.81% and a negative net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. Patterson-UTI Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.75%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -12.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PTEN. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.32.

Patterson-UTI Energy 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.