Atria Investments Inc Raises Stake in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,840 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 18.1% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 58,634 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 9,004 shares in the last quarter. Private Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,095,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,413,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,268,000 after buying an additional 62,377 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 93.9% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 76,064 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 519.3% during the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 61,114 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 51,245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of HP stock opened at $25.92 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.05. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.80 and a twelve month high of $44.11. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 32.89%.

Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In related news, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,042,945.70. This trade represents 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.25.

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.