Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Patterson-UTI Energy has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from 15 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $12.15.
• The company recently posted quarterly earnings of -$0.06 per share, beating estimates, while revenue of $1.12 billion also slightly topped expectations; however, revenue fell 12.7% year over year.
• Insider selling has been notable, with the COO and CEO both selling shares recently, and insiders collectively selling 1,007,844 shares worth about $11.9 million over the last three months.

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.15.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $15.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Capital One Financial raised Patterson-UTI Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $12.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ PTEN opened at $10.02 on Monday. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12 month low of $5.10 and a 12 month high of $13.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of -32.32 and a beta of 0.62.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative return on equity of 2.32% and a negative net margin of 2.56%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -129.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO James Michael Holcomb sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.47, for a total value of $1,720,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 421,523 shares in the company, valued at $4,834,868.81. This trade represents a 26.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. sold 250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.85, for a total value of $2,962,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,823,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,453,770.55. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,007,844 shares of company stock worth $11,922,302 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 21,211,576 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $229,732,000 after buying an additional 2,745,872 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,265,086 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $93,270,000 after purchasing an additional 75,560 shares in the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 13,803,775 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $81,856,000 after purchasing an additional 7,205,652 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 110.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,559,219 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $64,517,000 after purchasing an additional 5,551,276 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 11.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,450,347 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $102,347,000 after purchasing an additional 934,766 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company's core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.