Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,239 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 413,542 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,242,000 after purchasing an additional 64,971 shares during the period. Private Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,095,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,413,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $45,268,000 after acquiring an additional 62,377 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 93.9% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 76,064 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 519.3% during the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 61,114 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 51,245 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $26.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.80 and a 52 week high of $44.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 11.31%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Helmerich & Payne

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HP. Barclays lowered their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup raised Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

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.