Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Stock

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Helmerich & Payne to $40 (from $38) with a "sector perform" rating, implying about a 5.7% upside; the Street consensus remains a "Hold" with an average target of $39.10 and wide analyst divergence (e.g., Barclays $47 overweight, Morgan Stanley underweight).
• The stock traded up to $37.86 (roughly +2.6%) and sits in a 52-week range of $14.65–$41.68 with a market cap of $3.78B, a negative PE (-9.98) and mixed momentum (50-day $35.92, 200-day $31.99).
• Helmerich & Payne missed the latest quarter — EPS ($0.38) vs. ($0.06) expected and revenue $932.36M vs. $945.6M consensus (revenue down 8.2% YoY) — while an SVP sold 58,771 shares and institutional ownership remains very high (~96%).

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "sector perform" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price points to a potential upside of 5.65% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on HP. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Helmerich & Payne from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.10.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:HP traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $37.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 416,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,546,036. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.03. Helmerich & Payne has a fifty-two week low of $14.65 and a fifty-two week high of $41.68. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $35.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of -9.98 and a beta of 0.62.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.32). Helmerich & Payne had a negative return on equity of 1.14% and a negative net margin of 9.38%.The business had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $945.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. The company's revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Helmerich & Payne

In other Helmerich & Payne news, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 58,771 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.62, for a total transaction of $2,152,194.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 175,589 shares in the company, valued at $6,430,069.18. This represents a 25.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 11.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,735,765 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $206,660,000 after purchasing an additional 570,500 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,222,536 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $121,102,000 after purchasing an additional 33,193 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 7.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,474,036 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $76,741,000 after purchasing an additional 249,425 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,468,526 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $99,477,000 after purchasing an additional 465,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.3% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,132,265 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $47,102,000 after purchasing an additional 87,882 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company's stock.

About Helmerich & Payne

Helmerich & Payne, Inc is a leading provider of contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry, specializing primarily in onshore drilling operations. The company designs, engineers and operates a fleet of advanced drilling rigs, including its proprietary FlexRigs, which are engineered for high efficiency, safety and rapid mobilization. Alongside core drilling services, Helmerich & Payne offers well intervention, workover and coiled tubing services, positioning itself as a comprehensive drilling solutions partner for exploration and production companies worldwide.

Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Helmerich & Payne has grown through innovation and strategic expansion to serve diverse hydrocarbon basins.

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