Barclays PLC Sells 21,383 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Barclays PLC cut its holdings in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,032 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 21,383 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.18% of Helmerich & Payne worth $5,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HP. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,686,215 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $86,013,000 after buying an additional 801,000 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,658,356 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $85,121,000 after acquiring an additional 327,374 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,557,931 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $49,885,000 after acquiring an additional 53,277 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,522,144 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $48,739,000 after purchasing an additional 329,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,413,749 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $45,268,000 after purchasing an additional 62,377 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on HP shares. Argus upgraded Helmerich & Payne to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $43.00 to $28.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.78.

Insider Activity

In other Helmerich & Payne news, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at $19,042,945.70. This represents a 2.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HP traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.96. 786,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,513,529. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.82 and a twelve month high of $42.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $23.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.24, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. As a group, analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is 32.89%.

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.