Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $26.32 and last traded at $25.74, with a volume of 1895995 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on HP. Citigroup raised Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus raised Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.75.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.07. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, 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 quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.81.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced 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 return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. Equities analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 3.11 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Helmerich & Payne news, CEO John W. Lindsay bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at $19,042,945.70. This represents a 2.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag purchased 37,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 158,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,081,000 after acquiring an additional 8,553 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter worth about $657,000. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 573,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $18,356,000 after buying an additional 20,770 shares during the period. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 232,833.3% in the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 13,970 shares during the period. Finally, Private Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 39,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.