Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Shares Down 4.1% – What’s Next?

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)’s share price was down 4.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $24.73 and last traded at $24.81. Approximately 596,958 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 1,401,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HP shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 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 reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Argus raised shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.25.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.94.

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, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

Insider Transactions at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag purchased 37,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased 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 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 currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 18.1% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 58,634 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 9,004 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 413,542 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,242,000 after acquiring an additional 64,971 shares in the last quarter. Private Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the third quarter valued at about $1,095,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,413,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,268,000 after acquiring an additional 62,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 93.9% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 76,064 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,828 shares in the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.