Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 31.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,743,241 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $60,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTEN. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 8,254,137 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 worth $152,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,275,525 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 15,942.1% during the 3rd quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,524,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,500 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 82.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,338,844 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,242,000 after purchasing an additional 606,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total value of $588,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,743.68. This represents a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PTEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.63.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 4.0 %

PTEN stock opened at $9.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.41. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.15 and a 52 week high of $12.65.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -12.96%.

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.