Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Price Target to $41.00

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

HP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Helmerich & Payne to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

NYSE:HP opened at $33.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.48 and its 200-day moving average is $35.12. Helmerich & Payne has a 1-year low of $29.46 and a 1-year high of $44.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.40.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The firm had revenue of $693.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $695.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 29.07%.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 253.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Hedge funds and other 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.