Short Interest in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Decreases By 5.0%

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,340,000 shares, a drop of 5.0% from the December 31st total of 11,940,000 shares. Currently, 11.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HP. Citigroup upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 76.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the third quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $30.75 on Tuesday. Helmerich & Payne has a twelve month low of $29.46 and a twelve month high of $44.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $693.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Helmerich & Payne’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

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.