Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $38.12 and traded as high as $38.57. Helmerich & Payne shares last traded at $38.1910, with a volume of 816,324 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on HP. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.36.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Down 3.1%

The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.24 and its 200-day moving average is $38.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $987.70 million. Helmerich & Payne had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a negative return on equity of 2.35%. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is -70.92%.

Insider Transactions at Helmerich & Payne

In related news, SVP Cara Hair sold 11,149 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $493,566.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,024,925.65. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hans Helmerich sold 94,470 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $4,147,233.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $878,000. This trade represents a 82.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,673 shares of company stock valued at $4,864,590. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $513,336,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 11.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,735,765 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $206,660,000 after purchasing an additional 570,500 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 109.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,676,169 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,392,000 after purchasing an additional 874,823 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 217.4% in the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,526,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $49,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045,727 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the first quarter valued at $33,130,000. Institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

About Helmerich & Payne

Helmerich & Payne, Inc is a contract drilling company that provides land-based and offshore drilling services to oil and gas exploration and production companies. The company operates drilling rigs and provides related equipment, technology and field services used to drill and develop hydrocarbon wells.

H&P is known for its FlexRig fleet, including AC-powered rigs designed for horizontal and unconventional drilling. Its services may include rig operations, drilling support, automation and other technologies intended to improve operational efficiency, well placement and safety.