Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $5.76 Million in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 696,761 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,755,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $182,518,000 after buying an additional 2,123,659 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $84,375,000 after acquiring an additional 8,254,137 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,717,000 after purchasing an additional 478,064 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $60,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,241 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $8.46 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $8.40 and its 200 day moving average is $8.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.43 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 company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at $634,224.50. The trade was a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.63.

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.