Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.75.

A number of research analysts have commented on HP shares. Argus raised Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $26.53 on Monday. Helmerich & Payne has a fifty-two week low of $26.32 and a fifty-two week high of $44.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.37.

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, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Helmerich & Payne news, CEO John W. Lindsay bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. This represents a 2.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value 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 trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 4.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,182,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $127,246,000 after buying an additional 34,395 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,487,019 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $111,654,000 after purchasing an additional 35,013 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 801,000 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,658,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,121,000 after purchasing an additional 327,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,373,000 after purchasing an additional 22,875 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

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.