Short Interest in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Decreases By 5.1%

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 12,070,000 shares, a decrease of 5.1% from the November 15th total of 12,720,000 shares. Approximately 12.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.57.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

HP opened at $32.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.53. Helmerich & Payne has a 52-week low of $29.46 and a 52-week high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. The business had revenue of $693.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $695.99 million. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 96.9% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. 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.