Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Shares Gap Down to $42.43

Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $42.43, but opened at $39.91. Helmerich & Payne shares last traded at $40.24, with a volume of 430,596 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HP has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays downgraded Helmerich & Payne from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.63.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.16.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.81 million. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 12.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 28.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 13,372.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,418,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $101,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400,414 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 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 worth $98,535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,987 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 937.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 760,554 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 738,594 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 11,750.0% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 568,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $20,602,000 after purchasing an additional 564,000 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is 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.