Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 20th, 2023

Patterson-UTI Energy logo Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN – Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 19,931 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,128% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,623 put options.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

PTEN stock opened at $13.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.32 and a 200-day moving average of $12.97. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12-month low of $9.70 and a 12-month high of $19.81.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The oil and gas company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 21.22%. The firm had revenue of $758.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.73 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.05 earnings per share. Patterson-UTI Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 7th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PTEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Raymond James upped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.90.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on PTEN

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO James Michael Holcomb sold 8,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.47, for a total transaction of $136,166.94. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 387,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,001,199.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, SVP Seth David Wexler sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.98, for a total value of $599,250.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 340,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,439,879.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO James Michael Holcomb sold 8,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.47, for a total value of $136,166.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 387,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,001,199.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,618 shares of company stock worth $2,227,632 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.4% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 35,469,236 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $549,064,000 after acquiring an additional 476,464 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,644,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $299,525,000 after buying an additional 369,428 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.6% in the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 13,463,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $212,186,000 after buying an additional 215,120 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 2.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,529,734 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $126,042,000 after buying an additional 221,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 11.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,139,055 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $106,927,000 after buying an additional 924,365 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

(Get Free Report)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides contract drilling services to oil and natural gas operators in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Contract Drilling Services, Pressure Pumping Services, and Directional Drilling Services. The Contract Drilling Services segment markets its contract drilling services primarily in west Texas, Appalachia, Rockies, Oklahoma, South Texas, East Texas, and Colombia.