Short Interest in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Grows By 35.2%

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,107,640 shares, a growth of 35.2% from the January 29th total of 5,997,108 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,490,719 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 8.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 8.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,490,719 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, Director Hans Helmerich sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.12, for a total transaction of $2,109,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 496,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,968,188.20. This represents a 13.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Helmerich & Payne by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,165,265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $148,141,000 after purchasing an additional 194,935 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,222,536 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $121,102,000 after acquiring an additional 33,193 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 7.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,474,036 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $76,741,000 after acquiring an additional 249,425 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,468,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $99,477,000 after acquiring an additional 465,440 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,132,265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,102,000 after purchasing an additional 87,882 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HP. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $37.00 price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Friday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.20.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of HP traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.12. 553,903 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,801,389. Helmerich & Payne has a twelve month low of $14.65 and a twelve month high of $36.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.70 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.28.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $990.16 million. Helmerich & Payne had a positive return on equity of 0.28% and a negative net margin of 7.71%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is currently -31.35%.

About Helmerich & Payne

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.