Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) Short Interest Up 20.9% in January

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,520,000 shares, an increase of 20.9% from the December 31st total of 7,050,000 shares. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE HLX traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,191,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,293,546. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 200.05 and a beta of 2.46. Helix Energy Solutions Group has a fifty-two week low of $7.98 and a fifty-two week high of $13.05. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Diana Glassman sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were 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 approximately $259,762.02. The trade was a 37.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $958,714.33. The trade was a 44.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 269,991 shares of company stock worth $2,607,137. Corporate insiders own 6.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Helix Energy Solutions Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,546,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $61,016,000 after purchasing an additional 923,477 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 38.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,064,809 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $22,919,000 after purchasing an additional 575,450 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 111.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 941,394 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,449,000 after buying an additional 496,278 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Helix Energy Solutions Group by 352.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 538,485 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,019,000 after buying an additional 419,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,664,257 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $73,973,000 after buying an additional 246,577 shares during the period. 91.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HLX. StockNews.com raised Helix Energy Solutions Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BTIG Research cut shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped 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.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Company Profile

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.