Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Acquires 25,500 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 170,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,500 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.17% of Helmerich & Payne worth $5,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 61.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,386 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the period. Steph & Co. bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Helmerich & Payne by 817.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 2,714 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.05% of the company's stock.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Down 1.2 %

HP traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $19.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,018,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,518,568. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.57, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.82 and a 12-month high of $42.60. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $23.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.05.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Helmerich & Payne news, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the purchase, the director now owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. This represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the business'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 purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $43.00 to $28.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.78.

Helmerich & Payne Profile

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.