James Carl Stewart Sells 80,000 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Stock

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 5.3 %

Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $7.68 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.87. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.15 and a twelve month high of $12.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.51 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PTEN shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. ATB Capital reduced their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered 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 research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 250.4% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 4,320 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 92.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,885 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 10,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 3,221 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.