Independent Director Of Patterson-UTI Energy Sold 83% Of Their Shares

Some Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Independent Director, James Stewart, recently sold a substantial US$589k worth of stock at a price of US$7.36 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 83%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

View our latest analysis for Patterson-UTI Energy

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Patterson-UTI Energy

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Vice Chairman of the Board, Robert Drummond, sold US$3.0m worth of shares at a price of US$11.76 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$7.68). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last year Patterson-UTI Energy insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Does Patterson-UTI Energy Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Patterson-UTI Energy insiders own about US$54m worth of shares. That equates to 1.8% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Patterson-UTI Energy Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Patterson-UTI Energy and we suggest you have a look.

Of course Patterson-UTI Energy may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.