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 during the month of 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. Currently, 14.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.9 days.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of HP stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $33.60. 901,900 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,372,135. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.65. Helmerich & Payne has a 1-year low of $29.46 and a 1-year high of $44.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.42.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helmerich & Payne

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HP. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 514.4% in the first 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 during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 253.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 94.9% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Benchmark restated 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 research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.