Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PTEN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (down from $7.00) on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN opened at $8.32 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.29. Patterson-UTI Energy has a fifty-two week low of $5.10 and a fifty-two week high of $8.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.28 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.09. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.50% and a negative net margin of 1.94%.The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Patterson-UTI Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -128.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 368,254 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.87, for a total transaction of $2,161,650.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 207,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,215,090. This trade represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 360.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,862 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 127.3% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,970 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 3,343 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 5,554 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company’s core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.