Patterson-UTI Energy Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 4,884 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 138% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,054 call options.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $11.63. 1,303,777 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,056,631. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.18. The company has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.77 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.75. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52 week low of $5.10 and a 52 week high of $13.08.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -173.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 421,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,834,868.81. This trade represents a 26.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.64, for a total value of $2,328,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,542,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,594,397.36. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 363,670 shares of company stock worth $4,212,677. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $577,234,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 21,211,576 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $229,732,000 after purchasing an additional 2,745,872 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,265,086 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $93,270,000 after purchasing an additional 75,560 shares in the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% in the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 13,803,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $81,856,000 after purchasing an additional 7,205,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,559,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,517,000 after purchasing an additional 5,551,276 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PTEN shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. KeyCorp raised Patterson-UTI Energy to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.95.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

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.