Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (PTEN) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.08 on December 16th

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd,Zacks Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.08 per share by the oil and gas company on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd.

Patterson-UTI Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 47.4% per year over the last three years. Patterson-UTI Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 457.1% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Patterson-UTI Energy to earn ($0.09) per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of -355.6%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

PTEN stock opened at $8.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.86 and a beta of 2.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.22. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52-week low of $7.38 and a 52-week high of $12.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PTEN shares. ATB Capital reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.88.

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.