Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Susquehanna lowered their price target on the stock from $43.00 to $28.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Helmerich & Payne traded as low as $18.00 and last traded at $18.40, with a volume of 61440 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.98.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HP. 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 research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus raised Helmerich & Payne to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.78.

Insider Transactions at Helmerich & Payne

In other Helmerich & Payne news, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HP. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth $28,708,000. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $86,013,000 after acquiring an additional 801,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 4th quarter worth about $21,572,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $16,748,000 after purchasing an additional 441,688 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,931,000. 96.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Down 1.8 %

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $25.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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, 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 predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

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.