Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Declares $0.08 Quarterly Dividend

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.08 per share by the oil and gas company on Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd.

Patterson-UTI Energy has a payout ratio of -640.0% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Patterson-UTI Energy to earn $0.17 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 188.2%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:PTEN traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $6.10. 12,488,118 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,881,731. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.35 and a beta of 1.32. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12 month low of $5.12 and a 12 month high of $11.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $6.04 and a 200 day moving average of $7.05.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 19.78% and a negative return on equity of 0.70%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The business's revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.98, for a total transaction of $32,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 999,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,978,528.92. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 169,995 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 32,622 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 231,637 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 10,142 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 864,492 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,106,000 after buying an additional 30,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,747,463 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $39,024,000 after buying an additional 220,422 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PTEN has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.77.

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.

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