Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Short Interest Down 7.6% in October

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) was the target of a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,430,000 shares, a decline of 7.6% from the September 30th total of 14,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.9 days. Approximately 14.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Helmerich & Payne in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Helmerich & Payne by 514.4% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 253.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 94.9% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Helmerich & Payne Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HP traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $33.60. The stock had a trading volume of 901,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,372,135. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.82 and a 200-day moving average of $35.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.42. Helmerich & Payne has a 12-month low of $29.46 and a 12-month high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HP shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $42.50 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI raised Helmerich & Payne to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.29.

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.