Citigroup Upgrades Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) to “Buy”

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $40.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $33.00. Citigroup’s price target indicates a potential upside of 16.65% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on HP. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.57.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 4.6 %

NYSE HP opened at $34.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.19. Helmerich & Payne has a 12 month low of $29.46 and a 12 month high of $44.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $693.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $695.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 96.9% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors 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.