New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 486,787 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,454,877 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 486,787 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.37% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $12,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $84,375,000 after buying an additional 8,254,137 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 35.9% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,972,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $152,793,000 after acquiring an additional 5,275,525 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake 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 period. Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 15,942.1% in the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,524,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total transaction of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

PTEN opened at $8.27 on Tuesday. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.15 and a 1-year high of $12.65. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.35 and a beta of 2.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $8.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -12.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PTEN. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.