HEICO (NYSE:HEI) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

HEICO Co. (NYSE:HEI) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $227.45, but opened at $245.00. HEICO shares last traded at $255.94, with a volume of 159,598 shares changing hands.

The aerospace company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.10 million. HEICO had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 14.63%.

HEICO Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. HEICO’s payout ratio is 6.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HEI shares. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of HEICO in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on HEICO from $271.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HEICO has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HEICO

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HEI. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HEICO by 219,129.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 22,234,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,285,970,000 after purchasing an additional 22,224,106 shares in the last quarter. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC bought a new stake in HEICO in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $110,503,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in HEICO during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,030,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of HEICO by 2,203.0% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 87,030 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $20,691,000 after acquiring an additional 83,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Global Investors LLP bought a new position in shares of HEICO during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,073,000. Institutional investors own 27.12% of the company’s stock.

HEICO Stock Up 14.1 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $233.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $249.52. The company has a market capitalization of $36.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

About HEICO

HEICO Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells aerospace, defense, and electronic related products and services in the United States and internationally. Its Flight Support Group segment provides jet engine and aircraft component replacement parts; thermal insulation blankets and parts; renewable/reusable insulation systems; and specialty components.