EMC Capital Management Cuts Stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

EMC Capital Management cut its position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,913 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,719 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 35.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,275,525 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,066.6% in the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,960,723 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,655 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 15,942.1% in the third 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 82.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,338,844 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,242,000 after buying an additional 606,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 32,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $238,743.68. This represents a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $8.24 on Friday. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.15 and a 12-month high of $12.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.29 and a 200 day moving average of $8.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PTEN. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.