Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 207,503 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 67.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,684 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 207,503 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Helmerich & Payne worth $3,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HP. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,686,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $86,013,000 after purchasing an additional 801,000 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,522,144 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $48,739,000 after acquiring an additional 329,734 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,658,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,121,000 after acquiring an additional 327,374 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 320.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 198,415 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,035,000 after acquiring an additional 151,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 116.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 242,515 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,377,000 after purchasing an additional 130,455 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HP opened at $26.50 on Wednesday. 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 50-day moving average price of $27.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.57. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.43. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.80 and a 12 month high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HP shares. Citigroup upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Argus raised Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.11.

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.