Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays increased their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.10.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of HP opened at $41.00 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.59. Helmerich & Payne has a fifty-two week low of $20.32 and a fifty-two week high of $48.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of -29.08 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.96.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $987.70 million. Helmerich & Payne had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a negative return on equity of 2.35%. Helmerich & Payne’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sara Momper sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.28, for a total value of $223,791.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 16,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,900.24. This represents a 22.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cara Hair sold 11,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total transaction of $493,566.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,024,925.65. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 110,673 shares of company stock valued at $4,864,590. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the 2nd quarter worth $513,336,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,735,765 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $206,660,000 after buying an additional 570,500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 109.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,676,169 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $60,392,000 after purchasing an additional 874,823 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 165.1% during the fourth quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,081,644 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $59,702,000 after buying an additional 1,296,537 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 217.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,526,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $49,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045,727 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

About Helmerich & Payne

Helmerich & Payne, Inc is a contract drilling company that provides land and offshore drilling services to oil and gas exploration and production companies. The company operates drilling rigs and supplies related services used to drill, develop and maintain wells.

H&P’s offerings include its FlexRig fleet of high-performance land rigs, directional drilling, automated drilling technologies and rig management services. These capabilities are designed to support horizontal and other complex well programs, particularly in unconventional oil and natural gas basins.

Founded in 1920 by Walter Helmerich and William Payne, the company is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.