Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Short Interest Update

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,640,000 shares, a decline of 22.1% from the March 15th total of 25,210,000 shares. Approximately 5.2% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 11,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PTEN. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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, Raymond James cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.21.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. purchased 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,224.50. This trade represents a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,443.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded up $0.24 on Thursday, reaching $6.12. 12,990,342 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,897,700. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.39 and a 200 day moving average of $7.95. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52 week low of $5.12 and a 52 week high of $11.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of -2.47 and a beta of 1.60. 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 (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.04. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 18.00% and a positive return on equity of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -12.96%.

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.