Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. $PTEN

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 11% in Q1, buying an additional 934,766 shares and bringing its total holding to 9.45 million shares worth about $102.3 million.
• Patterson-UTI reported quarterly EPS of -$0.06, beating analyst expectations, while revenue came in at $1.12 billion; however, revenue was still down 12.7% from a year earlier and analysts now expect a full-year loss of $0.11 per share.
• The company also paid a $0.10 quarterly dividend (4.1% annualized yield), even as insiders sold shares and Wall Street remained mixed, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $12.15.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,450,347 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 934,766 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 2.49% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $102,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 360.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,934 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,862 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 5,554 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 187.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,591 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 4,299 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 494.6% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,621 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 7,171 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $9.84 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.64. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of -31.74 and a beta of 0.62. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.10 and a twelve month high of $13.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.04. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 2.56% and a negative return on equity of 2.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is presently -129.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Capital One Financial raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $12.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $10.00 to $15.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, CAO Forrest C. Robinson sold 13,670 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total value of $164,176.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 56,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $682,672.42. The trade was a 19.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.64, for a total value of $2,328,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,542,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,594,397.36. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,007,844 shares of company stock valued at $11,922,302. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company's core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.

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