Sciencast Management LP Takes $85,000 Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 10,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,146,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,472,000 after acquiring an additional 265,714 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in 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 buying an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 175,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after buying an additional 60,900 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 31,589 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in 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 buying an additional 1,743,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN opened at $8.38 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $8.40 and its 200-day moving average is $8.19. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.03 and a 12 month high of $12.65. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -12.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were 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. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total transaction of $357,265.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 85,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03 % 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTEN has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company 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 assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.63.

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.