Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.36.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of HP opened at $35.23 on Friday. Helmerich & Payne has a 12-month low of $24.45 and a 12-month high of $48.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.25 and its 200 day moving average is $37.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.63.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $987.70 million. Helmerich & Payne had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a negative return on equity of 2.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -70.92%.

Insider Transactions at Helmerich & Payne

In related news, SVP Cara Hair sold 11,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total transaction of $493,566.23. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,024,925.65. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hans Helmerich sold 94,470 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $4,147,233.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $878,000. The trade was a 82.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,673 shares of company stock worth $4,864,590. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HP. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 2nd quarter valued at $513,336,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,735,765 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $206,660,000 after purchasing an additional 570,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 109.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,676,169 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $60,392,000 after purchasing an additional 874,823 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 217.4% in the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,526,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $49,984,000 after buying an additional 1,045,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the second quarter worth about $30,606,000. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Helmerich & Payne

Helmerich & Payne, Inc is a contract drilling company that provides land-based and offshore drilling services to oil and gas exploration and production companies. The company operates drilling rigs and provides related equipment, technology and field services used to drill and develop hydrocarbon wells.

H&P is known for its FlexRig fleet, including AC-powered rigs designed for horizontal and unconventional drilling. Its services may include rig operations, drilling support, automation and other technologies intended to improve operational efficiency, well placement and safety.