Short Interest in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Decreases By 14.1%

Key Points

• Short interest in Patterson-UTI fell by 14.1% in March to 26,124,570 shares (about 7.1% of the stock) with a short‑interest ratio of 2.4 days.
• Director Robert Wayne Drummond Jr. sold 164,775 shares on March 16 at an average price of $10.18 (≈$1.68M); insiders own 2.4% of the company.
• Patterson‑UTI raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 (annualized $0.40, ~4.3% yield), while analysts maintain a consensus rating of Hold with an average target of $9.67.

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 26,124,570 shares, a decrease of 14.1% from the March 15th total of 30,414,994 shares. Approximately 7.1% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 10,777,116 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 164,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tejara Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 65.1% during the third quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 554,993 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,875,000 after acquiring an additional 218,856 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,489,694 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,717,000 after purchasing an additional 139,561 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 551,671 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,858,000 after purchasing an additional 230,800 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 728.4% in the 3rd quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 280,919 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 247,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.2% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,367,213 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,082,000 after purchasing an additional 169,816 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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 Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.67.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

PTEN stock traded down $1.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.30. The company had a trading volume of 7,134,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,194,907. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of -37.22 and a beta of 0.57. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1-year low of $5.10 and a 1-year high of $11.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.02) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid 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 dividend yield of 4.3%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.