Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $36.20, but opened at $34.49. Helmerich & Payne shares last traded at $33.89, with a volume of 371,475 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HP. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI upgraded Helmerich & Payne to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.29.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.40.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 38.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,862,362 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $67,306,000 after purchasing an additional 513,647 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,469,609 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $125,392,000 after buying an additional 471,420 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 51.7% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,189,318 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,982,000 after buying an additional 405,179 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 9.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,826,851 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $138,302,000 after acquiring an additional 327,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 1,241.0% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 348,571 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,604,000 after acquiring an additional 322,578 shares during the period. 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.