Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,340,000 shares, a drop of 5.0% from the December 31st total of 11,940,000 shares. Approximately 11.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HP traded down $0.30 on Monday, hitting $31.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,609,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,199,090. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.95. Helmerich & Payne has a 1 year low of $29.46 and a 1 year high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.76. The firm had revenue of $693.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $695.99 million. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the third quarter valued at $61,000. Hedge funds and other 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.