Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Stock Price

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised its price target on Patterson-UTI Energy to $12 from $10 while keeping a neutral rating; multiple brokers have lifted targets but the MarketBeat consensus remains a Hold with an average target of $10.90.
• PTEN traded around $11.42 (near a 52‑week high of $11.75) after reporting Q1 EPS of -$0.06 that beat estimates and revenue of $1.12B (down 12.7% y/y); the company has a market cap of about $4.33B and a negative P/E.
• Institutional investors own roughly 97.91% of the stock, while a company director disclosed selling 164,775 shares in March, indicating insider selling activity.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $10.00 to $12.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Piper Sandler's price target suggests a potential upside of 5.12% from the company's current price.

PTEN has been the subject of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Capital One Financial raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $12.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.90.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 0.8%

Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $11.42. 1,820,763 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,217,883. Patterson-UTI Energy has a fifty-two week low of $5.10 and a fifty-two week high of $11.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.85 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $9.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.04. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 2.56% and a negative return on equity of 2.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. The firm's revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 164,775 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 360.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,934 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,862 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 5,554 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 127.3% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,970 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 3,343 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 187.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,591 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 4,299 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

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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