Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 465,413 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 48,247 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.47% of Helmerich & Payne worth $14,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,065,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 10.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 153,022 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,436,000 after buying an additional 14,347 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 188,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,809,000 after buying an additional 21,852 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 1st quarter worth about $642,000. Finally, Freestone Capital Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,009,000. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of HP stock opened at $33.85 on Friday. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.46 and a twelve month high of $44.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.14. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.40.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

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.