Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 575,450 Shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX - Free Report) by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,064,809 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 575,450 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.35% of Helix Energy Solutions Group worth $22,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 95.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 308,892 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,348,000 after purchasing an additional 150,657 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 74.1% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 985,101 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 35.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 236,168 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,560,000 after purchasing an additional 61,963 shares in the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group during the third quarter worth about $628,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 325,758 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,531,000 after purchasing an additional 40,500 shares in the last quarter. 91.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Trading Down 2.4 %

HLX stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $10.26. The company had a trading volume of 676,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,825,178. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 263.19 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.09 and a 200 day moving average of $10.85. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.82 and a 52 week high of $13.05.

Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE:HLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $342.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $354.74 million. Helix Energy Solutions Group had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 4.39%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on Helix Energy Solutions Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research lowered shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Insider Transactions at Helix Energy Solutions Group

In other news, CEO Owen E. Kratz sold 298,419 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.92, for a total transaction of $3,557,154.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,171,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at $85,488,571.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.37% 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.