Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PTEN. Barclays dropped their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. ATB Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.13.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

PTEN stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.48. 8,841,596 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,893,985. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.16. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12 month low of $7.45 and a 12 month high of $14.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 2.13.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last issued its 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 return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 2.28%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,031 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the period. InTrack Investment Management Inc increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.2% during the second quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 32,950 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 119.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,401 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 320.7% in the first quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 2,091 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 15.8% in the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 12,623 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 1,724 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.