Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Down 5.7% – Time to Sell?

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) dropped 5.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $7.13 and last traded at $7.09. Approximately 3,229,875 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 7,593,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PTEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. Raymond James cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.63.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 2.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of -2.95 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.31.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -12.96%.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total transaction of $588,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,743.68. This represents a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,549,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the third 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. Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 175,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 60,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $60,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,241 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 262.6% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 43,618 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 31,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 258,836 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 47,817 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.