Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 67.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,684 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 207,503 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of Helmerich & Payne worth $3,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HP. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Steph & Co. purchased a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the 4th quarter worth $87,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 143.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Belgacem Chariag purchased 37,356 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Down 12.9 %

Shares of HP traded down $2.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.77. The company had a trading volume of 3,109,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,473,719. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.53 and a 1-year high of $44.11. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 6.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.40. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.06%. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.11.

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.