Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) Short Interest Up 5.4% in December

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) was the target of a significant 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. Approximately 4.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Scott Andrew Sparks sold 170,000 shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 112,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,111,697.58. The trade was a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Diana Glassman sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.94, for a total value of $159,040.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 26,133 shares in the company, valued at $259,762.02. The trade was a 37.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helix Energy Solutions Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 38.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,064,809 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,919,000 after purchasing an additional 575,450 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,286,917 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,492,000 after buying an additional 25,432 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 269.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 306,482 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,402,000 after buying an additional 223,432 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group in the third quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 217.0% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 305,767 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,394,000 after acquiring an additional 209,311 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.33% of the company’s stock.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Stock Up 1.6 %

HLX opened at $9.32 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.57. Helix Energy Solutions Group has a 1-year low of $8.81 and a 1-year high of $13.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 233.06 and a beta of 2.45. 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 (NYSE:HLX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 4.39%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Helix Energy Solutions Group will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

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.