Patterson-UTI Energy's (PTEN) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Citigroup

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Citigroup in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $6.50 price objective on the oil and gas company's stock. Citigroup's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.38% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.82.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $6.11 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $6.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.47 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1 year low of $5.12 and a 1 year high of $11.70.

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

Insider Activity

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total transaction of $357,265.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 85,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,443.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,441 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,218 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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