Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $23.50 and last traded at $23.75, with a volume of 496894 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $26.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus raised Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.11.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.43. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $26.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.40.

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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now 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 at the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HP. 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 worth $127,246,000 after acquiring an additional 34,395 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 35,013 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,686,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $86,013,000 after purchasing an additional 801,000 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,658,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,121,000 after purchasing an additional 327,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 22,875 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.