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

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.3889.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Zacks Research raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down previously from $7.00) on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, October 13th.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $6.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.56 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $5.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.86. Patterson-UTI Energy has a one year low of $5.10 and a one year high of $9.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 21st. The oil and gas company reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $191.70 million for the quarter. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative return on equity of 2.65% and a negative net margin of 2.81%. Equities analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is currently -88.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,000,602 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $88,065,000 after buying an additional 304,718 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $80,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135,704 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% in 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. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 13,238,092 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $78,502,000 after acquiring an additional 453,519 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 176.6% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 9,228,022 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $47,801,000 after acquiring an additional 5,891,956 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.