Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Decreases Stake in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 13,238 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Steph & Co. purchased a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 143.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HP. Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.11.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Up 1.4 %

Helmerich & Payne stock opened at $26.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.57. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.80 and a twelve month high of $44.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share 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, research analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In other Helmerich & Payne news, CEO John W. Lindsay bought 20,000 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag purchased 37,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade 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 insiders.

Helmerich & Payne 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.