Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Purchased by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 46.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 414,357 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 130,699 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.10% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $4,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC bought a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 635.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,002 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,594 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 350.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,263 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 2.3 %

Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $11.26. The stock had a trading volume of 5,560,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,526,500. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 2.21. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $9.70 and a one year high of $16.17. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $11.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.61.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is currently 31.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $2,204,254.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.17.

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.