Royce & Associates LP Has $9.84 Million Stock Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,191,230 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 187,900 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $9,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% in the 4th 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 period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 35.9% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,972,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $152,793,000 after buying an additional 5,275,525 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $60,477,000 after buying an additional 1,743,241 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $6,029,000. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at $19,562,824.96. This represents a 1.02 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 358,149 shares of company stock valued at $2,990,766. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ PTEN opened at $7.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of -3.18 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.03 and a 52-week high of $12.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.21.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is currently -12.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.63.

Patterson-UTI Energy 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.