Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. ATB Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.13.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.48. The company had a trading volume of 8,841,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,893,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 2.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.16. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12-month low of $7.45 and a 12-month high of $14.26.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.04). Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 4.49%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.4% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 497,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,931,000 after acquiring an additional 100,626 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,595,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $556,352,000 after buying an additional 1,554,020 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the first quarter valued at $990,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,706,000. Finally, Natixis bought a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $617,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.