Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target Lowered to $9.00 at Morgan Stanley

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $10.00 to $9.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.89% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on PTEN. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $8.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 1.99. Patterson-UTI Energy has a one year low of $7.03 and a one year high of $12.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total transaction of $357,265.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 85,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,224.50. This trade represents a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PTEN. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,146,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,472,000 after buying an additional 265,714 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $118,080,000 after buying an additional 1,352,840 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 175,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 60,900 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 262.6% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 43,618 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 31,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,241 shares during the period. 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.