Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 169,543 Shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX - Free Report) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,327,582 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 169,543 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 1.53% of Helix Energy Solutions Group worth $21,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HLX. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,546,820 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $61,016,000 after buying an additional 923,477 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,064,809 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $22,919,000 after buying an additional 575,450 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 111.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 941,394 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $10,449,000 after buying an additional 496,278 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 352.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 538,485 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,019,000 after buying an additional 419,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,664,257 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $73,973,000 after buying an additional 246,577 shares in the last quarter. 91.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Helix Energy Solutions Group

In related news, Director Diana Glassman sold 16,000 shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.94, for a total transaction of $159,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,133 shares in the company, valued at $259,762.02. This trade represents a 37.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth English Neikirk sold 83,991 shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.17, for a total transaction of $770,197.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $958,714.33. The trade was a 44.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,991 shares of company stock worth $2,607,137 in the last 90 days. 6.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HLX shares. TD Cowen dropped 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 note on Friday, October 25th. BTIG Research cut shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of HLX stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $8.45. 280,202 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,242,725. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.76 and a 12-month high of $13.05. The company's 50-day moving average price is $8.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 211.18 and a beta of 2.43. 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 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.