Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 127,525 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Granite Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 457,556 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 127,525 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $14,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,763 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 20,847 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,793,000 after buying an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 22,239 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HP opened at $19.18 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.31, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a one year low of $17.82 and a one year high of $43.41.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.21%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 32.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Helmerich & Payne news, Director Belgacem Chariag purchased 37,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,730.48. This represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HP shares. 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. Barclays reduced their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.22.

Helmerich & Payne 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.