Insider Buying: Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Director Buys $1,011,600.48 in Stock

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. This represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of HP stock opened at $27.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.49 and a 200-day moving average of $33.40. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a one year low of $26.35 and a one year high of $44.11. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.37.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 11.31%. Equities research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,182,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $127,246,000 after purchasing an additional 34,395 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,686,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $86,013,000 after buying an additional 801,000 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,658,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,121,000 after acquiring an additional 327,374 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,373,000 after acquiring an additional 22,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,557,931 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $49,885,000 after acquiring an additional 53,277 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HP shares. Argus raised Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.75.

Helmerich & Payne Company Profile

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.