Legal & General Group Plc Sells 47,453 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,034,685 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 47,453 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.27% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $8,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PTEN. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,208,086 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $51,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,351,001 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 811,010 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,699,000 after purchasing an additional 366,512 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $4,227,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 820,362 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,776,000 after buying an additional 326,188 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ PTEN traded up $0.20 on Thursday, hitting $6.08. 7,665,366 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,876,794. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.12 and a 1-year high of $11.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $7.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.95. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 1.60.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.04. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 18.00% and a positive return on equity of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -12.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. purchased 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.21.

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.