Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Declares $0.25 Quarterly Dividend

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid 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 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th.

Helmerich & Payne has a payout ratio of 29.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 0.6 %

Shares of HP traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $25.41. 1,578,725 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,707,684. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.57 and its 200-day moving average is $32.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.81. Helmerich & Payne has a fifty-two week low of $23.80 and a fifty-two week high of $44.11. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, CEO John W. Lindsay purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. This represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

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.