Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Sells 1,071,597 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. decreased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,782,054 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 1,071,597 shares during the quarter. Patterson-UTI Energy makes up about 0.9% of Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned 1.48% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $47,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,146,750 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $9,472,000 after buying an additional 265,714 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 175,900 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 60,900 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 262.6% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 43,618 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 31,589 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $511,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $60,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,241 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PTEN. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.32.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ PTEN traded up $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $6.44. 10,446,916 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,274,961. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $6.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 1.33. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.12 and a fifty-two week high of $11.70.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.00 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. Patterson-UTI Energy's revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -12.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. purchased 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at $19,562,824.96. This represents a 1.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total transaction of $357,265.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 85,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.