Wall Street Zen Upgrades Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) to Hold

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.18.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $39.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.01. Helmerich & Payne has a 52 week low of $21.73 and a 52 week high of $48.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of -28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.69.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hans Helmerich sold 94,470 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $4,147,233.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $878,000. This trade represents a 82.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cara Hair sold 11,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $493,566.23. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 90 days, insiders sold 110,673 shares of company stock worth $4,864,590. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Helmerich & Payne

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,158 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the 2nd quarter valued at $196,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 120.3% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 20,962 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 11,445 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 137,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,490,000 after acquiring an additional 13,160 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the 2nd quarter valued at $112,000. 96.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Helmerich & Payne

Here are the key news stories impacting Helmerich & Payne this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raises multiple earnings forecasts. Zacks Research increased its EPS estimates for HP’s fourth quarter of 2026 to $0.21 from $0.18, fiscal 2027 to $1.32 from $1.27, and fiscal 2028 to $2.51 from $2.46. It also lifted estimates for the second quarter of 2027, fourth quarter of 2027, and third and fourth quarters of 2028. The revisions suggest analysts expect improving profitability for the oilfield-services company over the next several years. Zacks Research earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street Zen upgraded HP to “Hold.” The change indicates a more balanced view of the shares rather than a clear bullish or bearish call. It may modestly improve sentiment if the prior rating was more negative, but it does not provide a strong catalyst for buying. Helmerich & Payne upgraded to Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Research coverage remains focused on future earnings recovery. The estimates imply a transition from the company’s current expected full-year loss of $0.18 per share to positive earnings in upcoming periods. However, these forecasts are several quarters ahead and remain dependent on oilfield activity, drilling demand and energy prices. What researchers are thinking about Helmerich & Payne

About Helmerich & Payne

Helmerich & Payne, Inc is a contract drilling company that provides land and offshore drilling services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the company operates and manages drilling rigs used to develop unconventional and conventional energy resources.

Its services include drilling-rig contracting, rig management, operational support, and technology solutions designed to improve drilling efficiency, safety, and well performance.