Mark W. Smith Sells 16,000 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Stock

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) CFO Mark W. Smith sold 16,000 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.49, for a total transaction of $647,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 144,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,865,786.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $38.22 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.79 and a 200 day moving average of $38.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.41 and a 12-month high of $46.55.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $687.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $682.51 million. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays cut shares of Helmerich & Payne from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.63.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 514.4% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 26.4% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth approximately $73,000. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.