Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. $HP

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Helmerich & Payne, acquiring 56,740 shares valued at approximately $1.48 million, which gives it a 0.06% ownership of the company.
• Helmerich & Payne reported a 49.2% year-over-year revenue increase to $1.04 billion and exceeded EPS expectations by $0.02, with a current profitability forecast of 2.93 EPS for the fiscal year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting a 4.8% yield, with a payout ratio of -303.03% due to its current financial performance.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 56,740 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,482,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of Helmerich & Payne as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 661,899 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $17,289,000 after purchasing an additional 136,499 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 147.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 254,119 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,638,000 after purchasing an additional 151,413 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne during the 1st quarter worth $10,635,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 104,180 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,721,000 after purchasing an additional 4,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 191,519 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,002,000 after purchasing an additional 18,363 shares during the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HP shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $17.00 target price (down from $19.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $25.00 to $17.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $22.20.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of HP traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $20.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,545,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,837. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -63.34 and a beta of 0.95. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.65 and a 1-year high of $37.46.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. Helmerich & Payne had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 0.90%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 49.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is -303.03%.

Insider Transactions at Helmerich & Payne

In other Helmerich & Payne news, CAO Sara Marie Momper sold 6,700 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.83, for a total transaction of $119,461.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 21,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $390,619.64. The trade was a 23.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

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.