Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 37,842 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,867 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,842 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.22% of Helmerich & Payne worth $6,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Steph & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 82.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 143.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the 4th quarter valued at $121,000. Institutional investors own 96.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HP shares. 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 research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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 report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.78.

Insider Transactions at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,730.48. This represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay bought 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HP traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,349,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,521,044. The company's 50-day moving average price is $24.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.44. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.68. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

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 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, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is 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.