Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Stock Price Up 8% - Here's What Happened

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.98 and last traded at $16.94. 562,554 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 1,635,195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Argus raised shares of Helmerich & Payne to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $43.00 to $28.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.73.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $18.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.50. 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 $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.35, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.93.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.63). Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.15%. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,113 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,763 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 20,847 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,999 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 13,385 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.05% 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.