Investors Purchase High Volume of Patterson-UTI Energy Put Options (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 32,419 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 240% compared to the average daily volume of 9,545 put options.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $2,204,254.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in 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. lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 99,484 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PTEN shares. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.17.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN opened at $11.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 2.21. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52-week low of $9.70 and a 52-week high of $16.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.59.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 10.00%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 31.68%.

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.