Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Price Target Cut to $40.00

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) had its price objective cut by Bank of America from $42.50 to $40.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $41.63.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of Helmerich & Payne stock opened at $39.23 on Monday. Helmerich & Payne has a 52-week low of $32.17 and a 52-week high of $46.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.47 and a 200 day moving average of $38.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.47.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.01). Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 12.84%. The firm had revenue of $687.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $682.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Helmerich & Payne

In other Helmerich & Payne news, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 9,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.22, for a total value of $398,580.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 137,764 shares in the company, valued at $5,540,868.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 9,910 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.22, for a total transaction of $398,580.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 137,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,540,868.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Smith sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.49, for a total value of $647,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 144,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,865,786.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 130.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,720,464 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $98,535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,987 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Helmerich & Payne by 937.0% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 841,724 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,487,000 after buying an additional 760,554 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 497.3% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 887,116 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,131,000 after acquiring an additional 738,594 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 11,750.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 568,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $20,602,000 after acquiring an additional 564,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter worth about $15,367,000. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.