Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Trading Up 4.8% - Here's Why

Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) were up 4.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $20.17 and last traded at $20.15. Approximately 527,987 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 1,504,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HP shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.78.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 4.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.44.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is 32.89%.

Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay bought 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,113 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,763 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 20,847 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,568 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,793,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 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.