Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Upgraded by Citigroup to Buy Rating

Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $40.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $33.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on HP. Barclays dropped their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.57.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $34.29 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.61 and a 200-day moving average of $34.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Helmerich & Payne has a 12 month low of $29.46 and a 12 month high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The business had revenue of $693.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $695.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 96.9% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 96.05% of the stock is 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.