New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 320,871 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 30,642 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $2,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $182,518,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123,659 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $68,717,000 after acquiring an additional 478,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,241 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total value of $588,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

PTEN stock opened at $8.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.36. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.15 and a 12-month high of $12.65. 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 company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of -3.38 and a beta of 2.06.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PTEN. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.63.

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.