Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Trading Up 3.7% – Here’s Why

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)’s share price was up 3.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $26.07 and last traded at $26.20. Approximately 760,580 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 1,636,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup raised shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.11.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.81.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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, analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 32.89%.

Insider Transactions at Helmerich & Payne

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HP. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 74.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 150,741 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,586,000 after purchasing an additional 64,465 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 5,642 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 15.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 98,411 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,952,000 after buying an additional 13,351 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 510.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 140,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,279,000 after acquiring an additional 117,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 116.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 242,515 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,377,000 after acquiring an additional 130,455 shares in the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.