Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Sells 68,686 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. $HP

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 41.6%, now owning approximately 0.10% of the company worth $2.5 million after selling nearly 69,000 shares.
• Helmerich & Payne reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.22, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a 49.2% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• The company announced a $0.25 quarterly dividend, translating to an annualized yield of 5.6%, despite a negative payout ratio of -303.03%.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 41.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,354 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 68,686 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Helmerich & Payne worth $2,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the 1st quarter valued at $666,000. CacheTech Inc. raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. CacheTech Inc. now owns 28,979 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 5,339 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 58.2% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 137,763 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,598,000 after buying an additional 50,682 shares during the last quarter. Adams Wealth Management raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Adams Wealth Management now owns 28,979 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 5,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,983,840 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $77,938,000 after buying an additional 325,484 shares during the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.83, for a total transaction of $119,461.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 21,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $390,619.64. This trade represents a 23.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Helmerich & Payne to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down from $19.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $22.20.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

HP traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.93. 2,149,299 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,435,925. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -57.35 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50-day moving average is $16.73 and its 200 day moving average is $19.83. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 49.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders 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 yield of 5.3%. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -303.03%.

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.