Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (HP) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 15th

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the oil and gas company on Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th.

Helmerich & Payne has a dividend payout ratio of 29.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Helmerich & Payne to earn $3.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.9%.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 0.5 %

HP stock opened at $25.29 on Wednesday. Helmerich & Payne has a fifty-two week low of $23.80 and a fifty-two week high of $44.11. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. As a group, analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on HP. Barclays reduced their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $39.00 target price (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.51% 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.