Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 127,525 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Granite Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 457,556 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 127,525 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned 0.46% of Helmerich & Payne worth $14,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,182,972 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $127,246,000 after acquiring an additional 34,395 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,686,215 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $86,013,000 after purchasing an additional 801,000 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,658,356 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $85,121,000 after purchasing an additional 327,374 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,214 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $68,373,000 after purchasing an additional 22,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,557,931 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $49,885,000 after purchasing an additional 53,277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company's stock.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of HP traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $20.59. 1,349,709 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,519,740. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.51. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a one year low of $17.82 and a one year high of $42.68.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Helmerich & Payne news, CEO John W. Lindsay bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag purchased 37,356 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,730.48. This represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $43.00 to $28.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.78.

Helmerich & Payne Company 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.