Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its stake in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,659 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 981 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HP. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,487,019 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $111,654,000 after purchasing an additional 35,013 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 801,000 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% during 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,557,931 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $49,885,000 after acquiring an additional 53,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,522,144 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,739,000 after acquiring an additional 329,734 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Up 3.1 %

HP stock opened at $20.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.42. 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 capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.82 and a 52 week high of $42.60.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $43.00 to $28.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.78.

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.