Patterson-UTI Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 30,187 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 194% compared to the average volume of 10,265 put options.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.45. 1,878,261 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,753,718. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.50. Patterson-UTI Energy has a one year low of $7.60 and a one year high of $15.27. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 2.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.27 and a 200 day moving average of $10.42.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 497,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,931,000 after purchasing an additional 100,626 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 1,350,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,580,000 after purchasing an additional 370,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,595,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $556,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the first quarter valued at about $990,000. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PTEN shares. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Bank of America decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.13.

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.