Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target Lowered to $14.00 at Bank of America

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its price objective cut by Bank of America from $14.50 to $14.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued a neutral rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $16.17.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $11.49 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.67. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12 month low of $9.70 and a 12 month high of $16.17.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 10.00%. Analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $2,204,254.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PTEN. Blackstone Inc. purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $483,016,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 74.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,194,132 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $597,807,000 after buying an additional 18,495,822 shares in the last quarter. Cerberus Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $188,486,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 21,195.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,655,391 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $161,311,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,658 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 397.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,882,977 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $81,420,000 after purchasing an additional 4,699,682 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company 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.