Guggenheim Capital LLC Lowers Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Guggenheim Capital LLC cut its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 74.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 76,879 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 226,250 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PTEN. Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 184,300 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 21,642 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 40,711 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 821.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 12,262 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 10,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 68.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 11,573 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 4,688 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at $19,562,824.96. This trade represents a 1.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 5.2 %

Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,067,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,052,482. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.87. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.60. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.12 and a fifty-two week high of $11.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a positive return on equity of 0.81% and a negative net margin of 18.00%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.67%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.88.

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.