American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stock Position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,658,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 327,374 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.67% of Helmerich & Payne worth $85,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,793,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 22,239 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,840 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 11,321 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 target price (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HP opened at $25.46 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.77. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.80 and a 1 year high of $44.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 11.31%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is 32.89%.

Helmerich & Payne 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.