Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $7.25 and last traded at $7.26, with a volume of 293890 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on PTEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.71.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 4.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.44 and a beta of 2.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,972,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $152,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,275,525 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $68,717,000 after purchasing an additional 478,064 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.7% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 6,069,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $62,880,000 after purchasing an additional 778,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,683,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $58,877,000 after buying an additional 2,191,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.