Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Helmerich & Payne to “sell” from “hold.” Despite the downgrade, broader analyst sentiment remains “hold,” with five buy, four hold, and two sell ratings and a consensus price target of $43.10.
• HP shares opened at $41.00, while the company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $0.11 per share versus the anticipated $0.09 profit.
• Company insiders sold approximately $4.86 million worth of shares over the past 90 days, including significant sales by SVP Cara Hair and director Hans Helmerich.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on HP. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna increased their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.10.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 1.1%

HP stock opened at $41.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.08 and a beta of 0.66. Helmerich & Payne has a 1-year low of $20.32 and a 1-year high of $48.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.20). Helmerich & Payne had a negative return on equity of 2.35% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $987.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 11,149 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total transaction of $493,566.23. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,024,925.65. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Helmerich sold 94,470 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $878,000. This trade represents a 82.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,673 shares of company stock worth $4,864,590. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $196,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 120.3% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 20,962 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 11,445 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 10.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 137,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,490,000 after buying an additional 13,160 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the second quarter worth approximately $112,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 24.9% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,505 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.05% of the company's stock.

About Helmerich & Payne

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.

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