Raymond James & Associates Boosts Stock Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 632,943 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 114,868 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.15% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $6,836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 8.3% in the second quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 8,872 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 40,572 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,229 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 211,025 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $2,204,254.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

PTEN stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.02. The company had a trading volume of 3,784,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,715,277. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.75. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.70 and a 12 month high of $16.17.

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

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PTEN shares. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.33.

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.