Insider Selling: Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Director Sells 230,000 Shares of Stock

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ PTEN traded up $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.09. 6,933,012 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,272,057. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.15 and a fifty-two week high of $12.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.36.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is presently -12.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 34,831 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,678 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,698 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 22,336 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 40,711 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PTEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.63.

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.