Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,050,000 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the November 30th total of 6,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,910,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Trading Up 3.9 %

HLX opened at $9.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 242.06 and a beta of 2.45. Helix Energy Solutions Group has a one year low of $8.81 and a one year high of $13.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $9.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.56.

Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE:HLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $342.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.74 million. Helix Energy Solutions Group had a return on equity of 4.39% and a net margin of 0.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Helix Energy Solutions Group will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Helix Energy Solutions Group

In other Helix Energy Solutions Group news, EVP Kenneth English Neikirk sold 83,991 shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Scott Andrew Sparks sold 170,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.87, for a total transaction of $1,677,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 112,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,111,697.58. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,991 shares of company stock valued at $2,607,137 over the last quarter. 6.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HLX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 1.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 14,762 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 87.8% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,489,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after purchasing an additional 696,395 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 3.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,535 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group during the second quarter worth $250,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 18.1% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 146,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after buying an additional 22,442 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HLX shares. BTIG Research lowered Helix Energy Solutions Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Helix Energy Solutions Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company.

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.