Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 18,070 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,306 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,070 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of Helmerich & Payne worth $4,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 253.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the first quarter worth $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.29.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of Helmerich & Payne stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.25. 1,770,378 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,374,581. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.40. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.46 and a fifty-two week high of $44.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.23.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.99%.

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.