Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 160,800 Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 160,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,737,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 40,572 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 211,025 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,526,000 after buying an additional 1,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarus Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Clarus Group Inc. now owns 46,123 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ PTEN opened at $11.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.64. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.70 and a 12 month high of $16.17. The company has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 2.21.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 10.00%. Equities research analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on PTEN shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.17.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $2,204,254.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.