Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Shares Gap Down to $42.43

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $42.43, but opened at $39.91. Helmerich & Payne shares last traded at $40.24, with a volume of 430,596 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HP. Barclays cut Helmerich & Payne from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.88.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 4.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.70.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $677.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.81 million. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 15.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. Analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Greylin Investment Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 79.7% in the first quarter. Greylin Investment Management Inc now owns 28,346 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 12,569 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the first quarter worth about $252,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the first quarter worth about $291,000. Saxon Interests Inc. acquired a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the first quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 32.6% during the first quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 8,407 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.