Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 26,352,142 shares, an increase of 82.2% from the May 14th total of 14,465,559 shares. Currently, 7.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 7,961,491 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,542,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,594,397.36. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO James Michael Holcomb sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.47, for a total transaction of $1,720,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 421,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,834,868.81. This trade represents a 26.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,007,844 shares of company stock worth $11,922,302. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 21,211,576 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $229,732,000 after purchasing an additional 2,745,872 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 15,599,294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $80,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,704 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,265,086 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $93,270,000 after purchasing an additional 75,560 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% during the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 13,803,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $81,856,000 after purchasing an additional 7,205,652 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,559,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $64,517,000 after purchasing an additional 5,551,276 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PTEN. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, March 2nd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.30.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 6.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN traded down $0.72 during trading on Monday, reaching $10.78. 6,137,544 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,263,051. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.07. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52-week low of $5.10 and a 52-week high of $13.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.77 and a beta of 0.61.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.04. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 2.56% and a negative return on equity of 2.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. The business’s revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -129.03%.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

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.