Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Buys 88,145 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,647,627 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 88,145 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 0.63% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $28,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 10,010 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,196 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 99,484 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 19,843 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 632,943 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 114,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 185,784 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 45,034 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Benchmark lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $2,204,254.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ PTEN traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,682,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,432,202. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $11.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.79. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.70 and a twelve month high of $16.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 2.21.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 5.94%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.68%.

Patterson-UTI Energy 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.