Semanteon Capital Management LP Reduces Position in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Semanteon Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) by 70.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,016 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 26,017 shares during the quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP’s holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 413,542 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,242,000 after purchasing an additional 64,971 shares during the period. Private Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne in the third quarter valued at about $1,095,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,413,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,268,000 after purchasing an additional 62,377 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 93.9% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 76,064 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,828 shares during the period. Finally, Hara Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 519.3% in the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 61,114 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 51,245 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HP shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup raised shares of Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Argus raised shares of Helmerich & Payne to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,730.48. The trade was a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John W. Lindsay bought 20,000 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,042,945.70. This represents a 2.98 % 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.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of HP opened at $24.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.42. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.80 and a 1 year high of $44.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.80.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 11.31%. Analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.89%.

Helmerich & Payne Company Profile

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.