Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $29.94, but opened at $31.80. Helmerich & Payne shares last traded at $30.5810, with a volume of 518,676 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $26.00 price objective on Helmerich & Payne in a report on Monday, December 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.20.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.59 and a beta of 0.56.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 17th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $972.79 million. Helmerich & Payne had a negative net margin of 4.37% and a positive return on equity of 3.21%. The company’s revenue was up 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is presently -59.88%.

Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In related news, Director Hans Helmerich sold 75,000 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.12, for a total value of $2,109,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 496,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,968,188.20. The trade was a 13.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,474,036 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $76,741,000 after purchasing an additional 249,425 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 1.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,003,086 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $66,338,000 after acquiring an additional 43,158 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,132,265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $47,102,000 after acquiring an additional 87,882 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,720,505 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,083,000 after purchasing an additional 321,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,550,279 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,246,000 after purchasing an additional 231,737 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Helmerich & Payne Company Profile

Helmerich & Payne, Inc is a leading provider of contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry, specializing primarily in onshore drilling operations. The company designs, engineers and operates a fleet of advanced drilling rigs, including its proprietary FlexRigs, which are engineered for high efficiency, safety and rapid mobilization. Alongside core drilling services, Helmerich & Payne offers well intervention, workover and coiled tubing services, positioning itself as a comprehensive drilling solutions partner for exploration and production companies worldwide.

Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Helmerich & Payne has grown through innovation and strategic expansion to serve diverse hydrocarbon basins.