VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases Shares of 128,400 Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. $PTEN

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired 128,400 Patterson-UTI Energy shares worth approximately $1.18 million, while institutional investors collectively own 97.91% of the company.
• Patterson-UTI declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equivalent to a 3.1% annualized yield, although its payout ratio remains negative due to reported losses.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $13.25 price target; however, company insiders sold 777,000 shares worth about $9.72 million over the last quarter.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 128,400 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,179,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 21,339 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 13,901 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 8,717 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 23,797 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 370,476 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,197,000 after buying an additional 1,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

More Patterson-UTI Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its FY2027 EPS forecast to $0.08 from $0.04 and its FY2028 forecast to $0.41 from $0.38. The firm also lifted estimates for Q2 2027, Q3 2027, Q1 2028 and Q2 2028, suggesting expectations for improving profitability over the next several years. MarketBeat Patterson-UTI Energy estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks increased its Q4 2026 estimate from a loss of $0.01 per share to breakeven, while projecting $0.04 EPS in Q2 2027 and $0.03 EPS in Q3 2027. These revisions improve the expected earnings trajectory, although the current full-year consensus remains a loss of $0.02 per share. MarketBeat Patterson-UTI Energy estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Patterson-UTI averaged 101 revenue-earning U.S. drilling rigs in August and 100 rigs during the two months ended August 31. The activity level indicates continued utilization, but the update provided no day rates, contract durations, fleet-class utilization or margins, leaving the financial impact uncertain. Patterson-UTI averaged 101 August rigs
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported September short-interest data showed zero shares and a zero-day short-interest ratio, unchanged from the prior period. Because the figures appear incomplete or erroneous, they provide no meaningful signal about potential short-covering or selling pressure.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN opened at $12.85 on Friday. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.10 and a 52-week high of $13.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.77. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of -55.87 and a beta of 0.66.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -173.91%.

Insider Activity

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, CEO William Hendricks, Jr. sold 250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.93, for a total value of $3,232,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,292,474 shares in the company, valued at $29,641,688.82. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Drummond Jr. sold 198,395 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.85, for a total transaction of $2,549,375.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 928,773 shares in the company, valued at $11,934,733.05. This represents a 17.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 777,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,721,280. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $12.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.25.

Patterson-UTI Energy Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc NASDAQ: PTEN is an energy-services company that provides drilling, completion, and production-related services to oil and natural gas operators. Its operations support the development of unconventional and other onshore energy resources, primarily in North America.

The company's offerings include contract land drilling, pressure pumping, well completion services, directional drilling, downhole tools, and related drilling technologies. Patterson-UTI also provides equipment, technical services, and other solutions used throughout the well-construction and completion process.

Patterson-UTI traces its history to the late 1970s and expanded its service platform through acquisitions and strategic combinations.

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