Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,040 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,734 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Helmerich & Payne worth $5,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 320.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 198,415 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,035,000 after buying an additional 151,196 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the 3rd quarter worth about $452,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Helmerich & Payne by 66.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 70,402 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 28,101 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,568 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,793,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 28.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 593,330 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $18,049,000 after purchasing an additional 129,613 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.05% of the company's stock.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of HP stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $19.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,727,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,531,653. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.82 and a 12 month high of $42.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.09.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. On average, research analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Belgacem Chariag purchased 37,356 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. This represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays decreased their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $43.00 to $28.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.78.

Helmerich & Payne Profile

Founded in 1920, Helmerich & Payne, Inc (H&P) NYSE: HP is committed to delivering industry leading levels of drilling productivity and reliability. H&P operates with the highest level of integrity, safety and innovation to deliver superior results for its customers and returns for shareholders.