Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $41.68 and last traded at $41.5050, with a volume of 661044 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on HP. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Evercore upgraded Helmerich & Payne from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.70.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.80. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.77 and a beta of 0.62.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.32). Helmerich & Payne had a negative net margin of 9.38% and a negative return on equity of 1.16%. The firm had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $945.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -26.39%.

Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In related news, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 58,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.62, for a total transaction of $2,152,194.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 175,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,430,069.18. This trade represents a 25.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 109.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,676,169 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $60,392,000 after buying an additional 874,823 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the first quarter worth about $319,000. Amundi boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 48.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,283 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 4,014 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 24.1% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 117,076 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,218,000 after purchasing an additional 22,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 6.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 474,752 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,105,000 after purchasing an additional 27,442 shares during the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.