WealthTrust Axiom LLC Raises Holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,150 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,114 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PTEN. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter worth $25,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 635.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,002 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 350.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,263 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $77,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.82. 4,825,254 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,474,177. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 2.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.70 and a 12-month high of $16.17.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 10.00%. Equities analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $2,204,254.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at $29,011,093.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PTEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.17.

Patterson-UTI Energy 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.