Citigroup Upgrades Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) to Buy

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) was upgraded by research analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a $40.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 21.84% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on HP. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Helmerich & Payne from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.57.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE HP opened at $32.83 on Friday. Helmerich & Payne has a 12-month low of $29.46 and a 12-month high of $44.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. The company had revenue of $693.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.99 million. Helmerich & Payne had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Helmerich & Payne will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HP. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 11,321 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 143,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,796 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 28.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 593,330 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $18,049,000 after acquiring an additional 129,613 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 0.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,793,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Helmerich & Payne by 66.4% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 70,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 28,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

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.