Analysts Set Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Target Price at $11.63

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.63.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PTEN shares. Raymond James lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $8.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.53 and a beta of 2.06. Patterson-UTI Energy has a fifty-two week low of $7.15 and a fifty-two week high of $12.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.41.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total transaction of $588,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,743.68. This trade represents a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $84,375,000 after acquiring an additional 8,254,137 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $52,817,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,972,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $152,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,275,525 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $60,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 15,942.1% during the 3rd quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,524,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,500 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.