Bank of Nova Scotia Buys New Position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has acquired a new stake in Helmerich & Payne, purchasing 18,638 shares valued at approximately $487,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Several other institutional investors, such as Summit Investment Advisors and LPL Financial, have also increased their holdings in Helmerich & Payne, indicating growing interest among hedge funds.
• Helmerich & Payne recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a 5.8% yield, although the company's dividend payout ratio is currently at -303.03%.

Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,638 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HP. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 69.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 32,240 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 13,198 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,504,671 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $39,302,000 after acquiring an additional 216,560 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 51,610 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 2,924 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the 1st quarter worth about $1,195,000. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the 1st quarter worth about $908,000. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $25.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Helmerich & Payne from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $25.00 to $17.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 1.7%

HP traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $17.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,645,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,000,040. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -53.28 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.90. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.65 and a 52-week high of $37.46.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 0.90%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. Helmerich & Payne's quarterly revenue was up 49.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio is presently -303.03%.

Helmerich & Payne Company 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.