Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Short Interest Down 5.0% in January

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,340,000 shares, a decline of 5.0% from the December 31st total of 11,940,000 shares. Currently, 11.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the third quarter worth $61,000. 96.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of HP stock traded down $0.30 on Monday, hitting $31.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,609,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,199,090. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.95. Helmerich & Payne has a one year low of $29.46 and a one year high of $44.11. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.37.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $693.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

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.