Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Stock Price

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus has lowered its target price for Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 67.08% from the stock's previous close.
• Recent analyst reports show a trend of decreasing price targets, with Barclays and Citigroup setting targets of $8.00 and $6.50, respectively.
• Patterson-UTI Energy's stock fell by 1.9% to $5.99, with the company reporting a net loss per share of $0.06 in its latest earnings results.
• Institutional investors own nearly 98% of Patterson-UTI Energy's stock, with several firms notably increasing their stakes recently.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $12.00 to $10.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price points to a potential upside of 68.92% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on PTEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.36.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 3.0%

PTEN stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,520,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,766,035. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Patterson-UTI Energy has a twelve month low of $5.12 and a twelve month high of $11.07. The company's fifty day moving average price is $6.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 1.32.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 21.49% and a negative return on equity of 1.94%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 5,500 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.98, for a total transaction of $32,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 999,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,978,528.92. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PTEN. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 89.1% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,954,738 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $140,046,000 after buying an additional 7,989,877 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $52,817,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $22,563,000. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 12,784,573 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $105,089,000 after buying an additional 2,569,713 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,717,431 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $96,317,000 after buying an additional 2,080,960 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

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.