Earnest Partners LLC Sells 273,445 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. $HP

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. by 7.8%, now holding 3.23% of the company, valued at approximately $83.94 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their positions in Helmerich & Payne, with notable increases of 104.2% and 120.7% from Versant Capital Management and Tower Research Capital, respectively.
• Helmerich & Payne will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, translating to an annual yield of 5.3%, despite a negative dividend payout ratio of -303.03%.

Earnest Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,213,574 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 273,445 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 3.23% of Helmerich & Payne worth $83,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter worth $2,788,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 3.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 494,813 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $12,925,000 after buying an additional 15,990 shares in the last quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY raised its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 40.8% in the first quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 113,342 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,960,000 after buying an additional 32,856 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 26.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 468,757 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $12,422,000 after buying an additional 97,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 85.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company's stock.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:HP traded up $0.70 on Friday, reaching $20.92. 2,134,043 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,435,499. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $16.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.69. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.65 and a 52 week high of $37.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -63.41 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 49.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -303.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $17.00 price target (down previously from $19.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $25.00 to $17.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $22.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sara Marie Momper sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $390,619.64. This trade represents a 23.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.