Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Stake Lessened by Symmetry Investments LP

Symmetry Investments LP lessened its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 490,649 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 57,070 shares during the period. Symmetry Investments LP’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $5,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PTEN. Blackstone Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter worth $483,016,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 74.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,194,132 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $597,807,000 after purchasing an additional 18,495,822 shares during the last quarter. Cerberus Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the third quarter valued at $188,486,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in 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 last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $44,911,000. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PTEN. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.67.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 2.0 %

Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $10.42. The stock had a trading volume of 8,348,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,477,485. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.48. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.73 and a fifty-two week high of $16.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 2.18.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 4.07%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 150,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.55, for a total transaction of $1,732,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,007,895 shares in the company, valued at $23,191,187.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.