Morgan Stanley Reiterates Underweight Rating for Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP)

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating restated by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $27.00 price target on the oil and gas company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.85% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price 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. Citigroup raised Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Argus raised Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.11.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $25.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Helmerich & Payne has a 52-week low of $23.80 and a 52-week high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the company’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 completion of the purchase, the director now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter worth about $28,708,000. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,686,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $86,013,000 after buying an additional 801,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,572,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 542.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 523,047 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $16,748,000 after buying an additional 441,688 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth $10,931,000. 96.05% of the stock is 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.