Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys New Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,029 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 27,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 2,298 shares during the last quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 154,604 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 13,028 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $301,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,191,230 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,840,000 after purchasing an additional 187,900 shares during the period. Finally, Monaco Asset Management SAM boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 900,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,434,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $8.56 on Thursday. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $7.03 and a one year high of $12.65. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -3.47 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.28 and a 200-day moving average of $8.21.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PTEN. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total transaction of $357,265.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at $634,224.50. The trade was a 36.03 % 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 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.