Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target Lowered to $8.00 at Susquehanna

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its target price decreased by Susquehanna from $9.00 to $8.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on PTEN. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.50 price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.50.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ PTEN opened at $5.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.35 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.92 and a 200 day moving average of $7.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Patterson-UTI Energy has a twelve month low of $5.12 and a twelve month high of $11.27.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.04. Patterson-UTI Energy had a positive return on equity of 0.81% and a negative net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.52%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,482,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,562,824.96. This represents a 1.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.98, for a total value of $32,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 999,754 shares in the company, valued at $5,978,528.92. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,443.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.