Short Interest in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Drops By 13.6%

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,570,000 shares, a decline of 13.6% from the January 31st total of 9,920,000 shares. Approximately 9.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Argus upgraded Helmerich & Payne to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.25.

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Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of HP traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,966,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,194. The company's 50-day moving average is $30.57 and its 200 day moving average is $32.33. Helmerich & Payne has a 12-month low of $23.80 and a 12-month high of $44.11. 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 capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Helmerich & Payne news, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. The trade was 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 Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,113 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,763 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 2.5% in 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 during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,130 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.