Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE:HLX) Raised to "Hold" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE:HLX - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on HLX. BTIG Research downgraded Helix Energy Solutions Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Helix Energy Solutions Group stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,705,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,834,886. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.29. Helix Energy Solutions Group has a 12 month low of $8.82 and a 12 month high of $13.05. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $10.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 229.56 and a beta of 2.41.

Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE:HLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.02. Helix Energy Solutions Group had a return on equity of 4.39% and a net margin of 0.54%. The business had revenue of $342.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Helix Energy Solutions Group will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Helix Energy Solutions Group

In other news, CEO Owen E. Kratz sold 298,419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.92, for a total value of $3,557,154.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,171,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at $85,488,571.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.37% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helix Energy Solutions Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,366,874 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $144,897,000 after buying an additional 152,413 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 2.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,018,797 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $131,559,000 after acquiring an additional 254,880 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Helix Energy Solutions Group during the second quarter worth about $81,862,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,413,435 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $40,756,000 after purchasing an additional 680,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 74.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,314,924 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $27,640,000 after purchasing an additional 985,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.33% of the company's stock.

About Helix Energy Solutions Group

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, an offshore energy services company, provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry in Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico, the East Coast of the United States, North Sea, the Asia Pacific, and West Africa regions. The company operates through four segments: Well Intervention, Robotics, Production Facilities, and Shallow Water Abandonment segments.