Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares gapped down ~11.9% premarket — last traded around $9.72 after opening at $9.94 versus a prior close of $11.23, on about 3.96 million shares traded.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: five Buy, six Hold and two Sell ratings with a consensus "Hold" and an average price target of $8.78 (below the current price), even as some firms raised targets (e.g., Susquehanna to $13, Goldman to $9).
• Patterson‑UTI beat the quarter (EPS -$0.02 vs -$0.11 est; revenue $1.15B vs $1.10B est) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.10 (4.0% yield), but the company remains unprofitable with negative net margin/ROE and recent insider selling.

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.23, but opened at $9.94. Patterson-UTI Energy shares last traded at $9.72, with a volume of 3,956,533 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PTEN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.78.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 11.9%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.28 and a 200 day moving average of $7.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.64 and a beta of 0.57.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.09. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.50% and a negative net margin of 1.94%.The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Patterson-UTI Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -160.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 164,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.18, for a total value of $1,677,409.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PTEN. Sourcerock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,205,652 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 176.6% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 9,228,022 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $47,801,000 after acquiring an additional 5,891,956 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 110.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,559,219 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $64,517,000 after acquiring an additional 5,551,276 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 121.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 8,320,544 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $50,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,558,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 8,989,351 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $46,565,000 after acquiring an additional 4,442,700 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

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.

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