Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HP. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.20.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

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’s fifty day moving average is $27.85 and its 200-day moving average is $22.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -18.59 and a beta of 0.56.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 17th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.27). Helmerich & Payne had a negative net margin of 4.37% and a positive return on equity of 3.21%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $972.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. Helmerich & Payne’s revenue was up 45.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -59.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 directly owned 496,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,968,188.20. The trade was a 13.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 174.1% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,044,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,510 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 316.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,218,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,907,000 after acquiring an additional 925,921 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,571,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,841,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 439.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 614,884 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,583,000 after purchasing an additional 500,863 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

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.