Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Stock Price Up 7.4% - Here's What Happened

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $25.00 to $17.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $27.00 to $20.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 20th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.09.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Down 1.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $17.12 and a 200 day moving average of $23.74.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $961.03 million. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.86%. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 61.3% in 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 last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 817.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,714 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 85.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.