Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 1,436 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,698 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 8,254,137 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,241 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,439,545 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,671,000 after purchasing an additional 717,814 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at $19,562,824.96. This trade represents a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 85,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,224.50. This trade represents a 36.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN opened at $8.38 on Friday. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.03 and a 52-week high of $12.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 1.99.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PTEN. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.54.

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.