Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) Short Interest Update

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,610,000 shares, an increase of 16.4% from the October 15th total of 5,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,910,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 4.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Helix Energy Solutions Group

In related news, CEO Owen E. Kratz sold 298,419 shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.92, for a total transaction of $3,557,154.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,171,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,488,571.20. This trade represents a 3.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 10.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 49,348 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,535 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,379 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 10.2% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 15,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HLX shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target 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. 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. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Helix Energy Solutions Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Price Performance

HLX stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,137,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,824,366. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 248.81 and a beta of 2.43. Helix Energy Solutions Group has a fifty-two week low of $8.82 and a fifty-two week high of $13.05.

Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE:HLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $342.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $354.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Helix Energy Solutions Group will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

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.