Short Interest in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Decreases By 22.1%

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,640,000 shares, a decline of 22.1% from the March 15th total of 25,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PTEN shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.21.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 owns 1,549,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PTEN. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $84,375,000 after acquiring an additional 8,254,137 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 89.1% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,954,738 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $140,046,000 after buying an additional 7,989,877 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,817,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $182,518,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123,659 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth $14,403,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 3.1 %

PTEN traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $5.88. The stock had a trading volume of 18,008,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,768,873. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.38 and a beta of 1.60. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52 week low of $5.12 and a 52 week high of $11.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.00.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

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.