Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. $HP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne, owning approximately 5.52% of the company, valued at $143 million, after purchasing additional shares in the first quarter.
• Shares of Helmerich & Payne opened at $17.76 and the company reported a quarterly revenue increase of 49.2% year-over-year, with earnings per share exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 5.6%, despite a negative payout ratio of -303.03%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,483,028 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 71,168 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.52% of Helmerich & Payne worth $143,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HP. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,763 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,788,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,714 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 264,688 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,475,000 after purchasing an additional 80,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis purchased a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter worth $1,844,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Helmerich & Payne news, CAO Sara Marie Momper sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.83, for a total value of $119,461.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,908 shares in the company, valued at $390,619.64. This trade represents a 23.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised Helmerich & Payne to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $25.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $19.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $22.20.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of Helmerich & Payne stock opened at $17.7650 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.84. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a one year low of $14.65 and a one year high of $37.46. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of -53.83 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is presently -303.03%.

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.

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