Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,505,551 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 519,259 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 2.04% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $91,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $339,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $146,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 167,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 25,919 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth $77,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 785,643 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,485,000 after acquiring an additional 50,837 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,707,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,438,028. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.70 and a 52-week high of $16.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 2.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.55.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 10.00%. Sell-side analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.