Morgan Stanley Reaffirms “Underweight” Rating for Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP)

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their underweight rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has a $27.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HP. Barclays dropped their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus upgraded Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.11.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $25.27 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. Helmerich & Payne has a 52 week low of $23.80 and a 52 week high of $44.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.62.

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

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the purchase, the director now owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter valued at $248,000. Hara Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 506.6% during the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 59,864 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,917,000 after acquiring an additional 49,995 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,702,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 158,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,081,000 after purchasing an additional 8,553 shares during the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is owned by 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.