Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $15.99 and last traded at $16.06, with a volume of 3182877 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Monday. Argus upgraded Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com cut Helmerich & Payne from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.80.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.19 and a 200-day moving average of $28.07.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.63). Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 11.02%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.23%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is currently 45.66%.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,113 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,763 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 20,847 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,999 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 13,385 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.