EMC Capital Management Makes New Investment in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,913 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PTEN. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,031 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 26,298 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 66.5% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Clarus Group Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.4% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 99,484 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.55, for a total transaction of $1,732,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,007,895 shares in the company, valued at $23,191,187.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.67. 7,914,397 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,961,435. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 2.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $9.51 and a one year high of $16.17.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 4.49%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.77.

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.