Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $12.43, but opened at $12.90. Patterson-UTI Energy shares last traded at $12.6450, with a volume of 575,331 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.95.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.61 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is currently -173.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.64, for a total transaction of $2,328,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,542,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,594,397.36. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Forrest C. Robinson sold 13,670 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total value of $164,176.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 56,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $682,672.42. This represents a 19.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 420,670 shares of company stock worth $4,880,957 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $1,325,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 92.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,515,581 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $52,030,000 after acquiring an additional 4,093,636 shares during the last quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,161,000. Gagnon Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 352,777 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after acquiring an additional 144,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 163.5% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 503,916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,457,000 after acquiring an additional 312,680 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company’s core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.