Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 87,080 Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 87,080 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,788,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.09% of Helmerich & Payne at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HP. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,793,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,840 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 11,321 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 372,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 1.8 %

Helmerich & Payne stock opened at $25.27 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.80 and a twelve month high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HP. Argus raised Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup raised shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired 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 trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % 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.

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.