Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 212,169 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,766,931 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 212,169 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 2.75% of Helmerich & Payne worth $88,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,182,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $127,246,000 after acquiring an additional 34,395 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 801,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,373,000 after buying an additional 22,875 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,557,931 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $49,885,000 after buying an additional 53,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in 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 valued at $48,739,000 after buying an additional 329,734 shares in the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of HP opened at $25.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.80 and a 1 year high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. On average, analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,730.48. The trade was a 216.56 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup raised Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.25.

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.