Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,887,117 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 20,611 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 1.91% of Helmerich & Payne worth $68,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HP. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Helmerich & Payne in the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the third quarter worth about $202,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,339 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the third quarter worth about $236,000. Finally, Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HP traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.33. 1,158,803 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,310,505. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.41 and a 12-month high of $46.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.65.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.01). Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The company had revenue of $687.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $682.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Helmerich & Payne news, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 9,910 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.22, for a total value of $398,580.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 137,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,540,868.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Helmerich & Payne news, CFO Mark W. Smith sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.49, for a total value of $647,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 144,870 shares in the company, valued at $5,865,786.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 9,910 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.22, for a total value of $398,580.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 137,764 shares in the company, valued at $5,540,868.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HP. Barclays downgraded Helmerich & Payne from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.63.

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.