Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Stock Price Up 3.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares rose 3.8% after Susquehanna raised its price target to $13 and gave a positive rating, while several other firms also lifted targets; however, MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Hold" with a $8.78 consensus price target.
• Patterson-UTI beat quarterly EPS (‑$0.02 vs. consensus ‑$0.11) and reported $1.15B in revenue, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 (annualized $0.40, yield ~3.6%).
• Director Robert Wayne Drummond Jr. sold 164,775 shares, even as institutional ownership is very high (~97.9%) with several major funds materially increasing their stakes.

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) rose 3.8% during trading on Tuesday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $13.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Patterson-UTI Energy traded as high as $10.99 and last traded at $10.9950. Approximately 1,045,940 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 11,030,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.59.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 164,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.18, for a total transaction of $1,677,409.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,465,704 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $112,825,000 after buying an additional 1,465,102 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 15,599,294 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $80,804,000 after buying an additional 1,135,704 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.5% in 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 buying an additional 75,560 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 7,205,652 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 5,551,276 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 4.0%

The company's fifty day moving average is $9.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.20. 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 company has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.06 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Patterson-UTI Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This is a boost from Patterson-UTI Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -160.00%.

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.

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