Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Upgraded to Hold at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

HP has been the subject of several other reports. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup raised shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.75.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $26.96 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.40. Helmerich & Payne has a fifty-two week low of $26.35 and a fifty-two week high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.71%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,686,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $86,013,000 after purchasing an additional 801,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,572,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,931,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,522,144 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $48,739,000 after buying an additional 329,734 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,658,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,121,000 after acquiring an additional 327,374 shares in the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently 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.