Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Down 3.5%

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) dropped 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $8.19 and last traded at $8.23. Approximately 3,436,934 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 6,823,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PTEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.13.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 2.28%. Equities analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.3 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.06%.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,595,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $556,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554,020 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $152,265,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,303,828 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $87,208,000 after purchasing an additional 703,536 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 6,069,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $62,880,000 after purchasing an additional 778,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 62.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,683,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $58,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,330 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.