Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,891 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 546 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Steph & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 82.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 143.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.08 per share, with a total value 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 $1,478,730.48. This represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.51% of the company’s stock.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $25.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.24 and a 200 day moving average of $31.65. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.80 and a 12-month high of $44.11. The stock has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 8.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reduced 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI reiterated 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.11.

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.