Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $35.99, but opened at $34.46. Helmerich & Payne shares last traded at $34.04, with a volume of 196,126 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $42.50 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI raised Helmerich & Payne to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.75.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.15. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $697.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 514.4% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 253.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in Helmerich & Payne by 94.9% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the first quarter valued at approximately $102,000. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.