Helmerich & Payne Inc (HP) will cut its quarterly dividend by 64.8 percent to $0.25 per share. This follows a 1.4 percent dividend hike to $0.71 per share 2018, marking the 47th year of annual dividend increases by the company. Today's dividend cut ends HP's streak of 48 consecutive years of annualized dividend increases.

The contract drilling company provided a capital allocation update today. In its press release HP also announced that it intends to reduce the future quarterly dividends to $0.25 per share. The company reaffirms its commitment to pay the previously announced $0.71 per share dividend on June 1, 2020, to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 11, 2020.

A new annualized dividend rate of $1.00 per share yields 5.5% at a stock price of $18.27.

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. is primarily a contract drilling company. The company provides performance-driven drilling services and technologies for oil and gas exploration and production companies. The company's business is composed of four reportable business segments - three contract drilling business segments: U.S. Land, Offshore and International Land and one drilling technology-based business segment: Helmerich & Payne Technologies. U.S. Land operations are located in Colorado, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Offshore operations are conducted in U.S. federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico and International Land operations has rigs located in Argentina, Bahrain, Colombia and United Arab Emirates. HP also owns, develops and operates limited commercial real estate properties. Real estate investments, which are located exclusively within Tulsa, Oklahoma, include a shopping center, multi‑tenant industrial warehouse properties and approximately 210 acres of undeveloped real estate. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on February 3, 1940 and is successor to a business originally organized in 1920.