Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 26,352,142 shares, an increase of 82.2% from the May 14th total of 14,465,559 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,961,491 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 7.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 6.2%

Shares of PTEN stock traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $10.78. The stock had a trading volume of 6,137,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,263,051. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.07. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52-week low of $5.10 and a 52-week high of $13.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of -34.77 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.04. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 2.56% and a negative return on equity of 2.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. The company’s revenue was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is presently -129.03%.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, COO James Michael Holcomb sold 150,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.47, for a total transaction of $1,720,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 421,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,834,868.81. The trade was a 26.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. sold 250,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.85, for a total transaction of $2,962,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,823,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,453,770.55. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,007,844 shares of company stock worth $11,922,302. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 21,211,576 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $229,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,745,872 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 15,599,294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $80,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135,704 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,265,086 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $93,270,000 after acquiring an additional 75,560 shares in the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 13,803,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $81,856,000 after acquiring an additional 7,205,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 110.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,559,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $64,517,000 after acquiring an additional 5,551,276 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on PTEN shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.30.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

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.