Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. $HP

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 65.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 93,107 shares to reach 235,343 shares valued at about $6.75 million.
• Helmerich & Payne reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting an EPS loss of $0.38 versus an expected loss of $0.06, while revenue of $932.36 million also came in below estimates and fell 8.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, payable June 1, which works out to an annualized dividend of $1.00 and a yield of 2.5%.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 65.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 235,343 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 93,107 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned about 0.23% of Helmerich & Payne worth $6,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 7.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,474,036 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $76,741,000 after purchasing an additional 249,425 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,003,086 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $66,338,000 after buying an additional 43,158 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,132,265 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $47,102,000 after buying an additional 87,882 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,720,505 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $26,083,000 after buying an additional 321,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,550,279 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $34,246,000 after acquiring an additional 231,737 shares during the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE HP opened at $39.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of -10.38 and a beta of 0.62. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.65 and a 12 month high of $41.68. The company's 50-day moving average price is $36.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $945.60 million. Helmerich & Payne had a negative net margin of 9.38% and a negative return on equity of 1.16%. Helmerich & Payne's quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is presently -26.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Friday, March 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Helmerich & Payne has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.50.

Insider Transactions at Helmerich & Payne

In related news, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 58,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.62, for a total value of $2,152,194.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 175,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,430,069.18. This represents a 25.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Helmerich & Payne

Helmerich & Payne, Inc is a leading provider of contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry, specializing primarily in onshore drilling operations. The company designs, engineers and operates a fleet of advanced drilling rigs, including its proprietary FlexRigs, which are engineered for high efficiency, safety and rapid mobilization. Alongside core drilling services, Helmerich & Payne offers well intervention, workover and coiled tubing services, positioning itself as a comprehensive drilling solutions partner for exploration and production companies worldwide.

Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Helmerich & Payne has grown through innovation and strategic expansion to serve diverse hydrocarbon basins.

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