Brokerages Set Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) PT at $37.25

Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.25.

Several analysts recently weighed in on HP shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of HP stock opened at $25.92 on Friday. Helmerich & Payne has a 52 week low of $23.80 and a 52 week high of $44.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.86%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Helmerich & Payne news, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,730.48. The trade was a 216.56 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,182,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $127,246,000 after purchasing an additional 34,395 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position 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 worth $111,654,000 after buying an additional 35,013 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,686,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $86,013,000 after acquiring an additional 801,000 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $85,121,000 after acquiring an additional 327,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $68,373,000 after acquiring an additional 22,875 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.