Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 26,352,142 shares, a growth of 82.2% from the May 14th total of 14,465,559 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,961,491 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 7.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO James Michael Holcomb sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.47, for a total transaction of $1,720,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 421,523 shares in the company, valued at $4,834,868.81. This trade represents a 26.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cesar Jaime sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.29, for a total value of $122,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 77,462 shares in the company, valued at $952,007.98. This trade represents a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,007,844 shares of company stock valued at $11,922,302 over the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PTEN. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 21,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 13,901 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 8,717 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 25,371 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 8.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 23,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Capital One Financial upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.40.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $10.35. 12,643,820 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,352,427. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.39 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Patterson-UTI Energy has a twelve month low of $5.10 and a twelve month high of $13.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.10.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative return on equity of 2.32% and a negative net margin of 2.56%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -129.03%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company’s core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.