Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Trading Down 5.8% – Should You Sell?

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) shares were down 5.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $8.72 and last traded at $8.70. Approximately 5,643,620 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 9,170,262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PTEN. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.63.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 5.7 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of -3.52 and a beta of 2.06.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total transaction of $588,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,743.68. The trade was a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $486,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 101.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 130,205 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 65,570 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter valued at about $75,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $272,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901 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.