Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Given “Hold” Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their hold rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $42.50 to $40.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI upgraded Helmerich & Payne to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $41.88.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

HP stock traded down $0.54 on Monday, hitting $33.85. 1,598,346 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,315,009. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 1.47. Helmerich & Payne has a 1-year low of $32.17 and a 1-year high of $46.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.52 and a 200-day moving average of $38.41.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.15. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 12.72%. The company had revenue of $697.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Helmerich & Payne’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 23,138 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 4,506 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 1.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 27,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $303,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 116,236 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,201,000 after purchasing an additional 23,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

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.