Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Shares Up 7.4% - Here's Why

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) was up 7.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $17.30 and last traded at $17.24. Approximately 736,697 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 1,937,573 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $25.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $27.00 to $20.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $25.00 to $17.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays cut their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.09.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.82. The business's fifty day moving average is $17.08 and its 200 day moving average is $23.70.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.63). Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 7.15%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.03 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.80%. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is 45.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HP. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 104.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,699 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 61.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,386 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the 1st quarter valued at $81,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 85.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 817.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714 shares in the last quarter. 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.