Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.25.

A number of research firms have issued reports on HP. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HP. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,487,019 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $111,654,000 after acquiring an additional 35,013 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 801,000 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% in the 4th 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $68,373,000 after purchasing an additional 22,875 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:HP opened at $25.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.94. Helmerich & Payne has a 12 month low of $23.80 and a 12 month high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 32.89%.

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.