Traders Buy Large Volume of Patterson-UTI Energy Call Options (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 20,083 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 95% compared to the average volume of 10,284 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PTEN shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. ATB Capital dropped their price target on 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. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.88.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $7.69 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.50 and a beta of 2.12. Patterson-UTI Energy has a fifty-two week low of $7.38 and a fifty-two week high of $13.10.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 497,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,931,000 after acquiring an additional 100,626 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,595,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $556,352,000 after buying an additional 1,554,020 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $990,000. Natixis bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the first quarter worth $617,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.4% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.