Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Trading Down 4.5% – Time to Sell?

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)’s share price traded down 4.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $45.65 and last traded at $45.5020. 324,529 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 1,403,101 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Helmerich & Payne from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.00.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.13 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

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 firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $987.70 million. Helmerich & Payne had a negative return on equity of 2.35% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Helmerich & Payne news, Director Hans Helmerich sold 94,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $4,147,233.00. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $878,000. This trade represents a 82.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cara M. Hair sold 11,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were 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 directly owned 136,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,024,925.65. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 110,673 shares of company stock valued at $4,864,590 over the last 90 days. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the second quarter valued at about $513,336,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 3,079.7% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,722,669 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $113,704,000 after buying an additional 3,605,593 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,370,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 174.1% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,044,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,993,000 after buying an additional 1,298,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 165.1% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

About Helmerich & Payne

Helmerich & Payne, Inc is a leading provider of contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry, specializing primarily in onshore drilling operations. The company designs, engineers and operates a fleet of advanced drilling rigs, including its proprietary FlexRigs, which are engineered for high efficiency, safety and rapid mobilization. Alongside core drilling services, Helmerich & Payne offers well intervention, workover and coiled tubing services, positioning itself as a comprehensive drilling solutions partner for exploration and production companies worldwide.

Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Helmerich & Payne has grown through innovation and strategic expansion to serve diverse hydrocarbon basins.