WealthTrust Axiom LLC Buys 7,114 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

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

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the period. Clarus Group Inc. raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Clarus Group Inc. now owns 46,123 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 99,484 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 27,142 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $2,204,254.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN stock traded down $0.44 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.82. 4,825,254 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,474,177. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 2.22. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.70 and a twelve month high of $16.17. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 5.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PTEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Benchmark lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.17.

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.