Helmerich & Payne’s (HP) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their hold rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

HP has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays cut their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.57.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HP opened at $36.06 on Thursday. Helmerich & Payne has a 52-week low of $29.46 and a 52-week high of $44.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.00.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The company had revenue of $693.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $695.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 16.3% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 33,184 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 4,650 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 253.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 112.9% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 20,386 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 10,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 17.5% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 132,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,589,000 after acquiring an additional 19,831 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

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.