Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 465,413 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 48,247 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $14,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 27,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 2.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 22,002 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 253.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 9.0% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,855 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 96.9% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Helmerich & Payne stock opened at $33.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.46 and a 12 month high of $44.11. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.48 and its 200-day moving average is $35.14.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

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.