Swiss National Bank Sells 83,400 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 701,388 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 83,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.17% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $7,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashburton Jersey Ltd raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Ashburton Jersey Ltd now owns 200,570 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 41,876 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 87,339 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $943,000 after acquiring an additional 5,915 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 63,150 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,114 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,505,551 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $91,860,000 after acquiring an additional 519,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $339,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.67.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ PTEN traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.01. 4,614,306 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,564,502. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 2.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.34. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $9.70 and a one year high of $16.17.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 4.07%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

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.