Stock fact sheet · data as of
Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (PTEN): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score
Ticker symbol PTEN · Energy · Oil & Gas Drilling · United States · Speculative
Is PTEN undervalued?
At 10.65 (close of 5 Nov 2026), PTEN trades 10% under the GLS average fair value of 11.84. 1 of the 3 models that produced a value land above the price. A discount of this size counts as a positive margin of safety in every GLS scan; whether it is enough depends on the rest of the picture - the health score, the moat and the option premium below.
The average is built from just 3 models (DCF, 10 Cap, DDM) - the rest returned nothing because an input they need (dividends, free cash flow, book value) is zero or negative - so treat it with more caution than usual.
The nightly engine files PTEN under Speculative - it is losing money or its Piotroski health score is 3 or lower - which caps its Wheel Score at 45 and keeps it out of the Sunday Scan.
Nine valuation models for PTEN
Each model turns the latest filed numbers into a value per share; the GLS fair value is the simple average of the ones that produce a positive number. The last two rows are shown for reference and never enter the average. The Quote page lets you switch any model off and add your own margin of safety.
| Model | Value | vs price | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCF | 7.80 | -27% | Present value of the projected free cash flows, discounted at the cost of capital |
| Graham Number | - | - | The most a defensive investor pays for the earnings and book value per share; no value tonight |
| Graham Growth | - | - | Graham's growth formula: EPS × (8.5 + 2 × growth), adjusted for bond yields; no value tonight |
| Lynch | - | - | EPS × the earnings growth rate (PEG of 1), growth capped at 25%; no value tonight |
| GLS Growth | - | - | EPS compounded ten years at the blended growth rate, discounted back at 15% a year; no value tonight |
| 10 Cap | 22.13 | +108% | Owner's earnings (operating cash flow less maintenance capex) capitalised at 10% |
| Payback Time | - | - | Eight years of compounded free cash flow: the price at which the business pays for itself; no value tonight |
| DDM | 5.59 | -47% | Dividend discount model: next year's dividend ÷ (10% − 3% growth); needs a dividend |
| EPV | - | - | Earnings power value: current EPS capitalised at 9% with no growth; no value tonight |
| Zombie (liquidation) | -2.43 | -123% | Current assets less all liabilities, per share: the balance-sheet floor. Not in the average |
| Wall St target | 13.57 | +27% | Analysts' average 12-month price target. Not in the average |
Quality and financial health
Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. scores 5 of 9 on the Piotroski F-score: a middling result that falls one point short of the "Piotroski 6 or more" Wheel Trade Filter. Some of the nine tests on profitability, leverage and efficiency are failed, so the accounts are worth a look before selling a put on the name. A GLS Moat score of 2.3/10 is a weak reading: the accounts do not show returns and margins that competitors have been unable to wear down, so the Moat part of the Wheel Score contributes little.
Returns on capital are thin or negative - ROIC -2.1%, ROE -2.9%, ROA -1.7% - with debt at 0.40 times equity and a free-cash-flow yield of 6.5%.
The dividend yield is 3.57% at a payout ratio of -578%; for a wheel trader holding assigned shares the dividend adds to the covered-call premium, and the ex-dividend date is worth knowing before a call is sold. Revenue comes mainly from Completion Services 61%, Drilling Services 30%, Drilling Products 7% (quarter Q2 FY2026).
Institutional ownership scores 10/10, insider activity 1/10 and Congressional trading 5/10 on the GLS smart-money scales.
| Piotroski F-score | 5 / 9 | ROIC | -2.1% |
|---|---|---|---|
| GLS Moat | 2.3 / 10 | ROE | -2.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.40 | ROA | -1.7% |
| Free-cash-flow yield | 6.5% | Payout ratio | -578% |
| Institutions | 10 / 10 | Insiders · Congress | 1 · 5 / 10 |
Wheel Score 39: Weak
With a Wheel Score of 39 Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. sits in the Weak band. It fails filter 2, a real business, not a gamble - speculative (a loss, or a weak Piotroski score); and filter 4, financially healthy - Piotroski 5/9 (under 6); Moat (weak) is its weakest part.
Implied volatility is 58% on the near-the-money contracts 20-60 days out - inside the 35-60% sweet spot the Wheel Score rewards most: enough premium to be worth selling, not so much that the risk is unpaid. The option chain is deep: 189,672 contracts of open interest across all expiries, which means tight fills at most strikes.
Volume runs at 14.3M shares a day on a market cap of $4.1B, with a beta of 0.67 - a low beta, so day-to-day moves are smaller than the market's; the Stability part of the Wheel Score rates that fair.
| Filter | Wheel Trade Filter | Result | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Options that actually trade | Passes | Listed options with 1,000+ contracts of open interest and 100+ traded a day |
| 2 | A real business, not a gamble | Fails | speculative (a loss, or a weak Piotroski score) |
| 3 | Below fair value | Passes | Trading below the nine-model average fair value (margin of safety above 0) |
| 4 | Financially healthy | Fails | Piotroski 5/9 (under 6) |
| 5 | Can repay its debt | Passes | Long-term debt repaid from 3 years of operating cash flow or less (6 for real estate and utilities; banks and insurers are not judged on it) |
| 6 | No serious red flags | Passes | Red Flags score 60 or more out of 100 (earnings, margins, debt, analysts, filings and price checked the same way for every stock) |
| 7 | A premium worth selling | Passes | Implied volatility 25-80% (enough premium, not a lottery ticket) |
| 8 | Big enough | Passes | Market cap $1 billion or more |
| 9 | Not a penny stock | Passes | Share price $5 or more |
| How it ranks | Rating | From | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Weak | 10% below fair value | |
| Premium | Strong | implied volatility 58% | |
| Moat | Weak | moat 2.3/10 | |
| Health | Fair | Piotroski 5/9 | |
| Red Flags | Good | Red Flags score 80/100 | |
| Option trading | Good | 670 contracts a day, 189,672 open interest | |
| Stability | Fair | beta 0.67, $4.1B company |
The Wheel Score ranks ~7,400 US stocks for selling cash-secured puts and covered calls: a stock must pass all 9 Wheel Trade Filters to score 70, and the score then ranks the ones that pass; the Sunday Scan is the top 10. It is updated nightly and is not a recommendation. How the Wheel Score works · the walkthrough lesson shows how it fits into a trade, start to finish.
Upcoming events
The next earnings report is due on 3 Feb 2027, 90 days away - outside the window of a 30-45-day put sold today. The shares go ex-dividend on 1 Dec 2026 (0.1000 per share), so a covered call sold before then carries a small early-assignment risk around that date.
No analyst upgrades or downgrades were recorded in the last 30 days.
Earnings, dividend, IPO, split and economic calendars for the whole market, filterable to your watchlists.
Similar stocks in Oil & Gas Drilling
The 9 companies below are the closest to Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. by market cap within the Oil & Gas Drilling industry, each with its own fact sheet; the Compare page puts up to eight of them side by side.
| Stock | Close | Fair value | MoS | Wheel | Mkt cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HP Helmerich & Payne, Inc. | 36.11 | 117.63 | +69% | 47Weak | $3.6B |
| VAL Valaris Limited | 82.77 | 377.28 | +78% | 48Weak | $5.7B |
| RIG Transocean Ltd. | 5.45 | 6.06 | +10% | 43Weak | $6.1B |
| SDRL Seadrill Limited | 43.32 | 98.50 | +56% | 41Weak | $2.7B |
| NE Noble Corporation Plc | 41.03 | 45.47 | +10% | 70Good | $6.6B |
| NBR Nabors Industries Ltd. | 76.00 | 1,463.96 | +95% | 42Weak | $1.2B |
| PDS Precision Drilling Corporation | 91.53 | 293.03 | +69% | 43Weak | $1.2B |
| BORR Borr Drilling Limited | 3.33 | 0.2248 | -1382% | 24Weak | $1.0B |
| SOC Sable Offshore Corp. | 1.98 | - | - | 13Weak | $380M |
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A free GLS Equity account gets you nightly fair value and the Wheel Score on ~7,400 US stocks, a watchlist, the scanner preview and the Sunday Scan - the top 10 stocks that pass all 9 Wheel Trade Filters, emailed every week. Pro adds the full put and call scanners, unlimited watchlists with alerts and the trade journal.
Start free See the Sunday ScanQuestions about PTEN
Is PTEN undervalued right now?
By the GLS models, moderately: at 10.65 the stock trades 10% below the average fair value of 11.84 (data as of 5 Nov 2026).
What is the Wheel Score of PTEN and what does it mean?
PTEN scores 39 out of 100 (Weak) - it fails Wheel Trade Filters 2, 4. The Wheel Score ranks stocks for the wheel strategy - selling cash-secured puts, then covered calls if assigned - in two parts: the 9 pass/fail Wheel Trade Filters (busy options, a real business, below fair value, Piotroski 6 or more, debt it can repay, a Red Flags score of 60 or more, implied volatility of 25-80%, a $1 billion company, $5 a share) and a ranking of how strongly a stock passes on value, premium, moat, health, red flags, option trading and stability. A stock that fails any filter stays under 70; 70-84 is Good, 85 and above is Prime. The Sunday Scan is the top 10 that pass, sorted by Wheel Score.
What is the GLS fair value for PTEN?
11.84 per share as of 5 Nov 2026 - the simple average of the 3 valuation models (out of nine: DCF, Graham Number, Graham Growth, Lynch, GLS Growth, 10 Cap, Payback Time, DDM and EPV) that produced a positive value. The models run every night on the latest filings; the Quote page lets you switch any of them off and add a margin of safety of your own.
When does Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. report earnings next?
The next earnings report is due on 3 Feb 2027, 90 days from the data date of 5 Nov 2026. The Calendars page lists every upcoming report with its time of day.
Does PTEN have listed options, and how liquid are they?
Yes. The nightly snapshot found 54 listed contracts with 189,672 open interest across all expiries and implied volatility of 58% on the near-the-money contracts. The Options scanner lists the cash-secured put and covered call set-ups with premium and annualised yield worked out.