Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,920,000 shares, a drop of 7.3% from the January 15th total of 10,700,000 shares. Currently, 10.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days.

Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In other Helmerich & Payne news, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. The trade was a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HP. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HP shares. Argus raised shares of Helmerich & Payne to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and set a $39.00 price target (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 3.2 %

HP stock traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,382,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,669,813. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. Helmerich & Payne has a twelve month low of $25.69 and a twelve month high of $44.11. The company's fifty day moving average price is $31.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.37.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

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.