Connable Office Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Connable Office Inc. boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 81.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,917 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,731 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PTEN. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,080,000 after buying an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $60,477,000 after buying an additional 1,743,241 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 258,836 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,138,000 after buying an additional 47,817 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 103.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 84,307 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 42,824 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 175,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after buying an additional 60,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total value of $588,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $238,743.68. The trade was a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN opened at $8.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.36 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.33. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.15 and a twelve month high of $12.65.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -12.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PTEN. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.63.

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.