Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (PTEN) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.08 on March 17th

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.08 per share by the oil and gas company on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd.

Patterson-UTI Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 58.7% per year over the last three years. Patterson-UTI Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 160.0% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Patterson-UTI Energy to earn $0.17 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 188.2%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $8.31 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $8.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.36 and a beta of 2.06. Patterson-UTI Energy has a one year low of $7.15 and a one year high of $12.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PTEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value 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 trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 32,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,743.68. This 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.