Short Interest in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Decreases By 5.1%

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 12,070,000 shares, a decline of 5.1% from the November 15th total of 12,720,000 shares. Currently, 12.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Helmerich & Payne by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 195,978 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 10,511 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 49,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,796,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 322,796 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,666,000 after buying an additional 100,096 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 2nd quarter worth about $181,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 2nd quarter worth about $784,000. 96.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:HP opened at $32.64 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.57 and a 200 day moving average of $34.53. Helmerich & Payne has a 52 week low of $29.46 and a 52 week high of $44.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.39.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. The business had revenue of $693.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.99 million. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.57.

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.