Patterson-UTI Energy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 40,078 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 414% compared to the average daily volume of 7,801 put options.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $11.94 on Friday. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52-week low of $9.70 and a 52-week high of $16.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 2.22.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 10.00%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.68%.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $2,204,254.68. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,473,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $426,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,041,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $486,449,000 after buying an additional 1,847,468 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 190,502 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,058,000 after buying an additional 21,263 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PTEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.33.

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.