Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE:HLX) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $7.85, but opened at $8.51. Helix Energy Solutions Group shares last traded at $8.44, with a volume of 297,244 shares.

The oil and gas company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $355.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.66 million. Helix Energy Solutions Group had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 4.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kenneth English Neikirk sold 83,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.17, for a total transaction of $770,197.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $958,714.33. This represents a 44.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Diana Glassman sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.94, for a total transaction of $159,040.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $259,762.02. This represents a 37.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 269,991 shares of company stock worth $2,607,137. 6.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helix Energy Solutions Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,049,438 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $130,941,000 after acquiring an additional 343,673 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 3.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,664,257 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $73,973,000 after purchasing an additional 246,577 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,546,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $61,016,000 after buying an additional 923,477 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,727,037 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $44,056,000 after buying an additional 437,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,103,295 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,243,000 after buying an additional 1,634,764 shares during the period. 91.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Stock Down 2.0 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.72. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 210.80 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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.