Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.25.

HP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays cut their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus upgraded Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Helmerich & Payne stock opened at $25.34 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. Helmerich & Payne has a one year low of $23.80 and a one year high of $44.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.85.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 54,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,730.48. This represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 76.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Steph & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.