Legato Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Legato Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 93.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 76,064 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,828 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $2,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HP. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 31,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 8,907 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Helmerich & Payne by 13.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,656 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management lifted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 6.3% in the third quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 13,425 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 13.1% in the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 9,086 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of HP stock opened at $27.30 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.49. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.37. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.61 and a 12-month high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. The trade was a 216.56 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HP. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.75.

Helmerich & Payne Company 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.