Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 84,813 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 23.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 276,129 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 84,813 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.07% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $2,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PTEN. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 89.1% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,954,738 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $140,046,000 after purchasing an additional 7,989,877 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,636,471 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $79,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,094 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $60,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,241 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,817,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,208,086 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $51,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351,001 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PTEN. Susquehanna cut 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 research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $6.50 price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 note on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.50.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 5,500 shares of the 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 now owns 999,754 shares in the company, valued at $5,978,528.92. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $6.53. The stock had a trading volume of 16,459,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,920,217. The business's 50 day moving average is $5.90 and its 200-day moving average is $7.38. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.64 and a beta of 1.31. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.12 and a 52 week high of $11.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 18.00% and a positive return on equity of 0.81%. The business's revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -12.31%.

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.