Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Upgraded at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $40.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $33.00.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on HP. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.57.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 4.6 %

NYSE HP opened at $34.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.18. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 18.1% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 58,634 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 9,004 shares during the period. Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the 3rd quarter valued at $619,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,274,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 510.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 140,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,279,000 after purchasing an additional 117,624 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 320.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 198,415 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,035,000 after buying an additional 151,196 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

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.