Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $32.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Helmerich & Payne traded as low as $18.00 and last traded at $18.40, with a volume of 61440 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.98.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 price target (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Helmerich & Payne

In other Helmerich & Payne news, Director Belgacem Chariag purchased 37,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $4,279,000 after purchasing an additional 117,624 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 110.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 22,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 11,719 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 9.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 74,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,269,000 after acquiring an additional 6,508 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,182,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $127,246,000 after acquiring an additional 34,395 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 11.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.89%.

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.