Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stock Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,743,241 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 1.88% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $60,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 101.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 130,205 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 65,570 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter valued at $75,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter valued at $272,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Finally, Grace & White Inc. NY boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 668.6% in the third quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 279,768 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 243,368 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PTEN. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.63.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total value of $588,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at $238,743.68. The trade was a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 4.0 %

PTEN opened at $9.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.54. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $7.15 and a one year high of $12.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 2.06.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

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.