Magnetar Financial LLC Increases Stake in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 389.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,754 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 30,833 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $1,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position 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 worth $127,246,000 after buying an additional 34,395 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 801,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 22,875 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,557,931 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $49,885,000 after purchasing an additional 53,277 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,522,144 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,739,000 after purchasing an additional 329,734 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on HP. Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 691,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,042,945.70. This 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.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $25.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.80 and a 12 month high of $44.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.85.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 11.31%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 32.89%.

Helmerich & Payne 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.