Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 1,704,087 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 693.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,949,853 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,704,087 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.50% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $16,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PTEN. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,443.0% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 3,218 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,678 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on PTEN shares. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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 decreased 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.32.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $6.32. The company had a trading volume of 19,457,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,268,899. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.56 and a beta of 1.33. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.12 and a 52-week high of $11.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company's 50 day moving average price is $6.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.76.

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

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently -12.31%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

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.