Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Buys 1,717 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,717 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,678 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,885 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 18.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 11,044 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,723 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 5.7 %

PTEN stock opened at $7.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.16 and a beta of 1.99. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.03 and a 12 month high of $12.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,743.68. This represents a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 358,149 shares of company stock valued at $2,990,766. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PTEN. Raymond James downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.63.

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.