Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,639,212 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 173,120 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Helmerich & Payne worth $421,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Marathon Capital Management raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Marathon Capital Management now owns 109,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,959,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,882 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 12,544 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,510 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of HP opened at $35.20 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $37.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.16. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.17 and a fifty-two week high of $46.55.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.01). Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The business had revenue of $687.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $682.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. Helmerich & Payne’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HP shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

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.