Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,064,809 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 575,450 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Helix Energy Solutions Group were worth $22,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLX. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Helix Energy Solutions Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in Helix Energy Solutions Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,722 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $130,000. 91.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:HLX opened at $9.26 on Thursday. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.81 and a 52 week high of $13.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 231.56 and a beta of 2.45.

Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE:HLX) 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. The company had revenue of $342.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period last year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Helix Energy Solutions Group

In other Helix Energy Solutions Group news, CEO Owen E. Kratz sold 298,419 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,171,860 shares in the company, valued at $85,488,571.20. The trade was a 3.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,677,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 112,634 shares in the company, valued at $1,111,697.58. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 484,419 shares of company stock worth $5,394,094. Corporate insiders own 6.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Helix Energy Solutions Group

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.