Trexquant Investment LP Buys 1,617,019 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. $PTEN

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP significantly increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 432.7% during the first quarter, owning 1,990,688 shares valued at $16.36 million.
• Patterson-UTI Energy's recent quarterly earnings report indicated a loss of ($0.06) per share, missing estimates, with a year-over-year revenue decline of 9.6%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.6%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd.

Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 432.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,990,688 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,617,019 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.52% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $16,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.2% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 12,784,573 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $105,089,000 after acquiring an additional 2,569,713 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,717,431 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $96,317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,080,960 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,288,829 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $35,426,000 after purchasing an additional 170,417 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $22,563,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,506,536 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $20,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,702 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Monday, hitting $5.81. 7,014,344 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,701,902. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.11 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.12 and a 52 week high of $9.57. The firm's fifty day moving average is $5.88 and its 200-day moving average is $6.45.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.94% and a negative net margin of 21.49%.The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -11.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PTEN. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $6.50 price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.27.

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.