Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HP. Weiss Ratings lowered Helmerich & Payne from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.10.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Helmerich & Payne stock opened at $40.27 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.64. Helmerich & Payne has a twelve month low of $20.57 and a twelve month high of $48.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of -28.56 and a beta of 0.66.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $987.70 million. Helmerich & Payne had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a negative return on equity of 2.35%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is presently -70.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Helmerich & Payne news, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 11,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $493,566.23. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,024,925.65. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Helmerich sold 94,470 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $4,147,233.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $878,000. The trade was a 82.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 110,673 shares of company stock valued at $4,864,590. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the 2nd quarter valued at about $513,336,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 11.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,735,765 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $206,660,000 after acquiring an additional 570,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 874,823 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 165.1% in the fourth quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,081,644 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $59,702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296,537 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 217.4% in the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,526,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $49,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045,727 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Helmerich & Payne Company Profile

Helmerich & Payne, Inc is a contract drilling company that provides land and offshore drilling services to oil and gas exploration and production companies. The company operates drilling rigs and supplies related services used to drill, develop and maintain wells.

H&P’s offerings include its FlexRig fleet of high-performance land rigs, directional drilling, automated drilling technologies and rig management services. These capabilities are designed to support horizontal and other complex well programs, particularly in unconventional oil and natural gas basins.

Founded in 1920 by Walter Helmerich and William Payne, the company is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.