Morgan Stanley Lowers Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target to $9.00

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.89% from the stock’s current price.

PTEN has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of PTEN opened at $8.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.20. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12-month low of $7.03 and a 12-month high of $12.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 1.99.

Insider Activity

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 bought at an average price of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,562,824.96. This trade represents a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $2,044,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PTEN. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,443.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,717 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.