Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the oil and gas company on Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th.

Helmerich & Payne has a payout ratio of 29.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Helmerich & Payne to earn $3.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.9%.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of HP stock opened at $25.41 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.27.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 54,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,730.48. This represents a 216.56 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 4.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HP shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

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.