Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 8,770 call options on the company. This is an increase of 214% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,791 call options.

Key Headlines Impacting Patterson-UTI Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Patterson-UTI Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded PTEN from “underweight” to “neutral” and set a $12 price target, implying further upside from recent trading levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its rating from “hold” to “strong-buy,” adding to the positive analyst sentiment surrounding the stock. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high options activity points to increased bullish interest: investors purchased 8,770 call options, roughly 214% above the typical daily volume.
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equivalent to a roughly 3.9% annualized yield, supporting the stock’s income appeal.
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue reached $1.23 billion, exceeding estimates by approximately $80 million and rising modestly year over year. Management’s earnings call also highlighted pricing power. Patterson-UTI Energy Fiscal Q2 Loss Narrows, Revenue Rises

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 61,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.02, for a total transaction of $738,929.50. Following the sale, the director owned 1,128,773 shares in the company, valued at $13,567,851.46. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Forrest C. Robinson sold 13,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total transaction of $164,176.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 56,842 shares in the company, valued at $682,672.42. This represents a 19.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 435,145 shares of company stock valued at $5,074,506 in the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 21.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,547 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 25,371 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 23,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ PTEN opened at $10.48 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.92. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52 week low of $5.10 and a 52 week high of $13.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.57 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 1.92% and a negative return on equity of 1.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. Analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -129.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PTEN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp raised Patterson-UTI Energy to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.75.

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.