Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Short Interest Down 5.1% in November

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 12,070,000 shares, a decline of 5.1% from the November 15th total of 12,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.8 days. Approximately 12.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Helmerich & Payne stock opened at $30.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.39. Helmerich & Payne has a 12-month low of $29.46 and a 12-month high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $693.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $695.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th 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 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.57.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 38.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,862,362 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $67,306,000 after buying an additional 513,647 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 15.7% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,469,609 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $125,392,000 after purchasing an additional 471,420 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 51.7% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,189,318 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,982,000 after purchasing an additional 405,179 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 9.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,826,851 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $138,302,000 after purchasing an additional 327,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1,241.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 348,571 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,604,000 after purchasing an additional 322,578 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.