Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Shares Down 4.1% – What’s Next?

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)’s share price fell 4.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $24.73 and last traded at $24.81. 596,958 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 1,401,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HP. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 target price (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Argus raised shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share 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 research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 32.89%.

Insider Transactions at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 4.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,182,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $127,246,000 after buying an additional 34,395 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,487,019 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $111,654,000 after buying an additional 35,013 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew 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 valued at $86,013,000 after buying an additional 801,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,658,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,121,000 after buying an additional 327,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,373,000 after buying an additional 22,875 shares in the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.