Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Raised to Hold at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on HP. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.75.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 1.0 %

HP stock opened at $26.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.81. Helmerich & Payne has a fifty-two week low of $26.35 and a fifty-two week high of $44.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.44. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.37.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. On average, research analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 32.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Helmerich & Payne news, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 4.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,686,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $86,013,000 after buying an additional 801,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter worth $21,572,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth $10,931,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,522,144 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,739,000 after acquiring an additional 329,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,658,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,121,000 after acquiring an additional 327,374 shares during the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Helmerich & Payne Company Profile

Founded in 1920, Helmerich & Payne, Inc (H&P) (NYSE: HP) is committed to delivering industry leading levels of drilling productivity and reliability. H&P operates with the highest level of integrity, safety and innovation to deliver superior results for its customers and returns for shareholders.