Short Interest in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Declines By 34.3%

Key Points

• Short interest dropped 34.3% in April to 17,159,086 shares (4.6% of shares short) from 26,124,570 at March-end, giving a days-to-cover ratio of about 1.6.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 (ex-dividend June 1, payable June 15), which annualizes to $0.40 and a yield of about 3.4%.
• Patterson-UTI reported Q1 EPS of -$0.06 (beating estimates by $0.04) on $1.12B revenue (down 12.7% YoY); the stock traded up to $11.85 and analysts show a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $11.30, though several firms raised targets recently.

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 17,159,086 shares, a drop of 34.3% from the March 31st total of 26,124,570 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,822,573 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 4.6% of the company's shares are short sold.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 3.4%

NASDAQ:PTEN traded up $0.39 on Tuesday, reaching $11.85. 4,745,367 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,242,781. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.27 and a beta of 0.57. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12 month low of $5.10 and a 12 month high of $11.93. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $9.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.72.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. The business's revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is -129.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PTEN. Zacks Research upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given 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, Patterson-UTI Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.30.

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 that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PTEN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,465,704 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $112,825,000 after buying an additional 1,465,102 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 15,599,294 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $80,804,000 after buying an additional 1,135,704 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,265,086 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $93,270,000 after buying an additional 75,560 shares during the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% during the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 13,803,775 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $81,856,000 after buying an additional 7,205,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,559,219 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $64,517,000 after buying an additional 5,551,276 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

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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