American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,658,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 327,374 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $85,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% in 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. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 27.7% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 329,734 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 18.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,161,286 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,326,000 after purchasing an additional 177,023 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 320.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 198,415 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,035,000 after purchasing an additional 151,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake 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 worth $7,377,000 after purchasing an additional 130,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Helmerich & Payne Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:HP opened at $25.46 on Tuesday. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.80 and a fifty-two week high of $44.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 11.31%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

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.