Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX - Free Report) by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 1.36% of Helix Energy Solutions Group worth $22,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HLX. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 2.7% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 72,100 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,077,400 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $12,864,000 after purchasing an additional 14,762 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 2.1% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,122,153 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $13,399,000 after buying an additional 22,826 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,451,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 3.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,535 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. 91.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Helix Energy Solutions Group

In related news, COO Scott Andrew Sparks sold 170,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.87, for a total transaction of $1,677,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 112,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,111,697.58. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Owen E. Kratz sold 298,419 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,171,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $85,488,571.20. This trade represents a 3.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 484,419 shares of company stock worth $5,394,094 over the last 90 days. 6.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Stock Performance

HLX stock traded up $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $9.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 939,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,785,047. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 231.81 and a beta of 2.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.81 and a 1 year high of $13.05.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on HLX shares. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Helix Energy Solutions Group from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Company Profile

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.