New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,454,877 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 486,787 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $12,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,678 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,885 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 10,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 3,221 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PTEN shares. Raymond James downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.63.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $8.27 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $8.47 and its 200 day moving average is $8.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.35 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.15 and a 52-week high of $12.65.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -12.96%.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total transaction of $588,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,743.68. This represents a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total transaction of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

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.