Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.08 (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.08 per share by the oil and gas company on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd.

Patterson-UTI Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 58.7% annually over the last three years. Patterson-UTI Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 213.3% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Patterson-UTI Energy to earn ($0.17) 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 -188.2%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN opened at $8.38 on Friday. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1 year low of $7.15 and a 1 year high of $12.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.46.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PTEN. StockNews.com lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.