Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Shares Down 4.4%

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)’s share price fell 4.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $39.22 and last traded at $39.24. 858,030 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 1,264,725 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.88.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 1.47.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $697.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.78 million. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 9,910 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.22, for a total transaction of $398,580.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 137,764 shares in the company, valued at $5,540,868.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Mark W. Smith sold 16,000 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.49, for a total transaction of $647,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 144,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,865,786.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 9,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.22, for a total transaction of $398,580.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 137,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,540,868.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HP. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 514.4% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 253.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 94.9% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.