Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Buys 25,500 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,500 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.17% of Helmerich & Payne worth $5,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NFJ Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 157,868 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,055,000 after purchasing an additional 6,848 shares during the last quarter. CacheTech Inc. grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. CacheTech Inc. now owns 23,640 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 3,978 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in Helmerich & Payne by 82.9% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 166,643 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,336,000 after buying an additional 75,546 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,113 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 817.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 2,714 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

HP traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.97. 1,018,509 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,515,675. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.88. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.57, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.82 and a twelve month high of $42.60. 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 (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last released 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%. Equities research analysts forecast 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, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.01%. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $43.00 to $28.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus upgraded Helmerich & Payne to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.78.

About Helmerich & Payne

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.