Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Downgraded to “Sell” at Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. lowered shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report released on Friday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on HP. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a sell rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, March 30th. Guggenheim upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Helmerich & Payne from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $54.00 target price on Helmerich & Payne and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC set a $55.00 target price on Helmerich & Payne and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Helmerich & Payne currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $59.70.

Helmerich & Payne (HP) traded down 2.32% on Friday, reaching $51.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,109,843 shares. Helmerich & Payne has a 12 month low of $49.46 and a 12 month high of $85.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.94. The company’s market cap is $5.63 billion.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $498.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $452.42 million. Helmerich & Payne had a negative return on equity of 3.37% and a negative net margin of 11.19%. The company’s revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.20) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne will post ($1.32) EPS for the current fiscal year.

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The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. Helmerich & Payne’s payout ratio is presently -167.66%.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the first quarter valued at $172,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 4.2% in the first quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 2,885 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 244.4% in the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 3,375 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace North America L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the first quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Murphy Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 2.6% in the second quarter. Murphy Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter.

About Helmerich & Payne

Helmerich & Payne, Inc is engaged in contract drilling of oil and gas wells for others. The Company operates in the contract drilling industry. The Company’s contract drilling business consists of three segments: U.S. Land, Offshore and International Land. The Company is also engaged in the ownership, development and operation of commercial real estate and the research and development of rotary steerable technology.