Nuveen Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,000,702 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 66.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,506,536 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,000,702 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.64% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $20,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,678 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ PTEN traded down $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $5.60. The stock had a trading volume of 5,933,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,609,505. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.12 and a 52-week high of $11.27. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.27 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.31 and a 200-day moving average of $7.59.

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

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -12.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $6.50 price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.58.

Insider Activity 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 shares were acquired 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $634,224.50. This trade represents a 36.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy 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.