Piper Sandler Cuts Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Price Target to $39.00

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) had its target price reduced by Piper Sandler from $44.00 to $39.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a sell rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Benchmark reissued a hold rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

NYSE:HP opened at $39.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.80 and a 200-day moving average of $38.46. Helmerich & Payne has a 52 week low of $30.41 and a 52 week high of $46.55. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.51.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.01). Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 12.84%. The business had revenue of $687.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $682.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.

Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In related news, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 9,910 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.22, for a total value of $398,580.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 137,764 shares in the company, valued at $5,540,868.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Helmerich & Payne news, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 9,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.22, for a total transaction of $398,580.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 137,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,540,868.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Smith sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.49, for a total value of $647,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 144,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,865,786.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 514.4% in 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 period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 94.9% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.