Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 43.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,717 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% in the 4th 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 grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $84,375,000 after acquiring an additional 8,254,137 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,717,000 after purchasing an additional 478,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in 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 period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,743.68. The trade was a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 358,149 shares of company stock worth $2,990,766 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $7.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.16 and a beta of 1.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.25. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.03 and a fifty-two week high of $12.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

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.