Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $25.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Helmerich & Payne traded as low as $18.00 and last traded at $18.40, with a volume of 61440 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.98.

Several other research firms have also commented on HP. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.22.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,113 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,763 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 20,847 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,793,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.88.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. As a group, research analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

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.