Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 729.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 133,011 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 116,982 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $1,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Skylands Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 11.9% during the first quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 254,810 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,095,000 after purchasing an additional 27,100 shares in the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,185,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,554,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 36,561 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 4,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,748,421 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $14,371,000 after acquiring an additional 77,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 1.9%

Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $6.03. The company had a trading volume of 9,970,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,156,908. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.32 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.07 and a 200 day moving average of $7.12. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.12 and a 1 year high of $11.11.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 19.78% and a negative return on equity of 0.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.31%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on PTEN shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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 report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.98, for a total transaction of $32,890.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 999,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,978,528.92. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

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.