Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Stock Position Raised by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,487,019 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,013 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 3.51% of Helmerich & Payne worth $111,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HP. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,113 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,763 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 20,847 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,568 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,793,000 after buying an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $43.00 to $28.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.78.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of Helmerich & Payne stock traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $19.84. 1,324,263 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,516,328. 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's 50-day moving average is $23.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.82 and a 1-year high of $42.60.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. As a group, research analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, Director Belgacem Chariag purchased 37,356 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value 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 trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at $19,042,945.70. This represents a 2.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.