Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.08

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.08 per share by the oil and gas company on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd.

Patterson-UTI Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 47.4% per year over the last three years. Patterson-UTI Energy has a payout ratio of 188.2% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Patterson-UTI Energy to earn $0.15 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 213.3%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $7.97 on Friday. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12-month low of $7.45 and a 12-month high of $13.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.37 and a 200-day moving average of $9.76. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71 and a beta of 2.12.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.04). Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 4.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PTEN shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.54.

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.