Bailard Inc. Invests $225,000 in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 27,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $182,518,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123,659 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $84,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,254,137 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,717,000 after buying an additional 478,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,477,000 after buying an additional 1,743,241 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total transaction of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total value of $588,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at $238,743.68. This trade represents a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

PTEN stock opened at $7.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.96 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.07 and a 52-week high of $12.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.31.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -12.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PTEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.63.

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.