Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. $PTEN Shares Sold by ARGA Investment Management LP

Key Points

• ARGA Investment Management cut its Patterson-UTI Energy stake by 93.1% in the third quarter, selling 1.85 million shares and retaining 137,156 shares valued at about $1.5 million.
• Patterson-UTI reported quarterly EPS of $0.07, beating the $0.04 estimate, while revenue of $1.34 billion topped expectations and rose 14.1% year over year.
• Analysts’ average rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $14.09; the company also declared a $0.10 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.4% annualized yield.

ARGA Investment Management LP lowered its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 93.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,156 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 1,848,689 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP's holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $1,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $471,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 2.6% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 51,413 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.3% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 50,263 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 14,439 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 2.9% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 48,047 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VestGen Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,036.9% in the third quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 146,961 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 134,034 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Patterson-UTI Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Patterson-UTI Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $15 from $14 and reaffirmed an Overweight rating, implying 27.7% upside from the reference price cited in the report. Piper Sandler analyst recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley increased its target to $13 from $12, while keeping an Equal Weight rating; the report cited 10.6% potential upside. Morgan Stanley analyst recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: UBS lifted its target to $13.50 from $13 but maintained a Neutral rating; the report cited 14.9% potential upside. UBS analyst recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks article says it compares PTEN’s September-quarter revenue, EPS and other key metrics with Wall Street estimates and year-ago results, but the available summary does not provide the comparison’s findings. Zacks Q3 earnings metrics article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Patterson-UTI Energy from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $12.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.09.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

PTEN opened at $11.75 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -195.83 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.56. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.24 and a 12-month high of $13.39.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The oil and gas company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.58% and a negative net margin of 0.52%. Patterson-UTI Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.10) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is currently -666.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Drummond Jr. sold 198,395 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.85, for a total value of $2,549,375.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 928,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,934,733.05. The trade was a 17.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James Stewart sold 207,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.54, for a total transaction of $2,388,780.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,027,000 shares of company stock worth $12,698,780 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc is an oilfield services company that provides drilling, completion and production-related services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. Its operations are primarily focused on onshore oil and gas development in the United States.

The company provides contract land drilling services through a fleet of rigs, as well as directional drilling and related technologies used to guide wellbores. Patterson-UTI also offers pressure pumping and hydraulic fracturing, wireline, well-completion, equipment rental and other services that support the development and maintenance of unconventional wells.

Patterson-UTI expanded its completion-services business through its 2023 merger with NexTier Oilfield Solutions.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PTEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.