Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Stock Price

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) had its price objective cut by Barclays from $36.00 to $24.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus upgraded Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.25.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Down 3.2 %

NYSE:HP opened at $26.23 on Wednesday. Helmerich & Payne has a 12-month low of $25.69 and a 12-month high of $44.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.92.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John W. Lindsay bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 4.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,182,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $127,246,000 after buying an additional 34,395 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,487,019 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $111,654,000 after buying an additional 35,013 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position 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. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% during 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 buying an additional 327,374 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,373,000 after buying an additional 22,875 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Helmerich & Payne

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.