Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) Short Interest Up 16.4% in October

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,610,000 shares, an increase of 16.4% from the October 15th total of 5,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 4.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of HLX stock opened at $9.95 on Monday. Helix Energy Solutions Group has a 1-year low of $8.82 and a 1-year high of $13.05. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 248.81 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.84.

Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE:HLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Helix Energy Solutions Group will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Helix Energy Solutions Group

In other Helix Energy Solutions Group news, CEO Owen E. Kratz sold 298,419 shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.92, for a total transaction 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 approximately $85,488,571.20. This trade represents a 3.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 6.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helix Energy Solutions Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 0.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 269.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 306,482 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,402,000 after acquiring an additional 223,432 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $273,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 217.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 305,767 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 209,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $239,000. 91.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BTIG Research cut shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Helix Energy Solutions Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd.

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.