Wells Fargo & Company MN Raises Stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 82.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 811,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 366,512 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $6,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 103.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 84,307 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 42,824 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $68,717,000 after acquiring an additional 478,064 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter valued at $186,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 683,621 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,640,000 after acquiring an additional 47,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,167,871 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,535,000 after buying an additional 559,859 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $6.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.12 and a 1 year high of $11.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.47 and a beta of 1.60.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,482,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,562,824.96. This trade represents a 1.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PTEN. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.21.

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.