Royce & Associates LP Buys 81,180 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,272,410 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,180 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $10,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.7% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 36,561 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 4,691 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 199.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 62,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 41,418 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 729.8% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 133,011 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 116,982 shares during the period. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $3,717,000. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.98, for a total value of $32,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 999,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,978,528.92. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of PTEN opened at $5.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 1.32. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $5.12 and a one year high of $11.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 21.49% and a negative return on equity of 1.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.41%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -11.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $8.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.50 price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.36.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

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.