Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (HP) stock analysis

P/E against its history

Not enough price and earnings history to compare.

P/E against the industry

Needs positive earnings and enough profitable companies in the industry.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

Helmerich & Payne's EV/EBITDA of 6.6 is above its 5-year median of 6.2.

P/S above the industry

Helmerich & Payne's price-to-sales of 0.92 is above the Oil and Gas Field Services median of 0.92 (book value is negative, so we use sales).

Trading above fair value

The share price of $36.62 is above our fair value estimate of $36.46.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 0.4% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing 10%+ a year

Revenue grew 22.1% a year over the last three fiscal years.

EPS growth over 3 years

Needs positive EPS three years ago and today.

Earnings acceleration

Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.

Growing faster than the industry

Revenue grew 16.6% over the last twelve months; the Oil and Gas Field Services median is 4.6%.

Guidance lowered

Helmerich & Payne lowered its 4Q'26 Direct Margin outlook on Aug 5, 2026.

Gross margin slipping

Gross margin was 31.8% over the last twelve months, against 35.1% a year earlier.

Return on equity

Needs positive equity and five years of results.

Return on invested capital

Needs operating income and invested capital.

Return on equity against the industry

Needs positive equity.

Earnings over 5 years

Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.

Net margin below its 5-year average

Net margin was -3.4% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -0.6%.

Net margin below the industry

Helmerich & Payne's net margin of -3.4% is below the Oil and Gas Field Services median of 0.9%.

Debt level

Needs debt and equity figures.

Debt trend

Needs a balance sheet from five years ago with positive equity.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 31.1% of total debt.

Interest not well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 0.9 times; we look for at least 5.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 1.96 times current liabilities.

Bankruptcy risk in the grey zone

The Altman Z-score is 1.99; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Helmerich & Payne paid dividends worth 2.7% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 2.7% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Helmerich & Payne yields 2.7%.

Dividend was cut

The dividend per share fell by more than 10% at least once in the last 10 fiscal years.

Earnings cover

Needs dividends paid and net income.

Covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 32.1% of free cash flow.