Helmerich & Payne, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 (NYSE:HP)

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the oil and gas company on Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th.

Helmerich & Payne has a dividend payout ratio of 29.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Helmerich & Payne to earn $3.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.9%.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HP traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $25.41. 1,578,725 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,707,684. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.32. 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 has a 1 year low of $23.80 and a 1 year high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its 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 net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 11.31%. Equities analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

HP has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup raised shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

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.