Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Stock Position Lifted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 12.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,167,871 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 559,859 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.33% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $39,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PTEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,972,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $152,793,000 after buying an additional 5,275,525 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $68,717,000 after purchasing an additional 478,064 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.7% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 6,069,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $62,880,000 after purchasing an additional 778,581 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,683,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $58,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,330 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on PTEN. Barclays dropped their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price 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 Friday, October 25th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.71.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total transaction of $588,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,743.68. The trade was a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ PTEN opened at $7.52 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $8.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.52. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.15 and a twelve month high of $12.65. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.43 and a beta of 2.12.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -14.61%.

Patterson-UTI Energy 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.