Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Upgraded at The Goldman Sachs Group

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) was upgraded by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $10.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $11.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 29.53% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on PTEN. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. ATB Capital decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.71.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $7.72 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.97. Patterson-UTI Energy has a one year low of $7.38 and a one year high of $12.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.53 and a beta of 2.12.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 49.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 49,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 7,567 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 263.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,597 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 5,506 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $495,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.4% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 3,261,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,791,000 after purchasing an additional 197,555 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% 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.