Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $26.32 and last traded at $25.74, with a volume of 1895995 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HP shares. Citigroup raised Helmerich & Payne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and set a $39.00 target price (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $31.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.92.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.89%.

Insider Activity

In other Helmerich & Payne news, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter valued at $28,708,000. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 801,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,572,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 542.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 523,047 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $16,748,000 after acquiring an additional 441,688 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,931,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company's stock.

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.