Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 519,259 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,505,551 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 519,259 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 2.04% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $91,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth $339,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth $146,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 167,312 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 25,919 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth $77,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 785,643 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,485,000 after buying an additional 50,837 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $10.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,801,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,512,979. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 2.22. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.70 and a 12 month high of $16.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.55.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 5.94%. On average, analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is presently 31.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PTEN shares. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Benchmark downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

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 transaction of $2,204,254.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

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.