Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Rating Reiterated by Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their hold rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on HP. Barclays cut shares of Helmerich & Payne from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 12th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $42.63.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

HP traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $41.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 424,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,205. Helmerich & Payne has a fifty-two week low of $30.41 and a fifty-two week high of $46.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.24. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 12.84%. The business had revenue of $677.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. Helmerich & Payne’s revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 28.57%.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 514.4% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 26.4% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Hedge funds and other 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.