Helios Technologies (NASDAQ:HLIO) Stock Price Up 8.4% – Time to Buy?

Helios Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIO) shares rose 8.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $31.35 and last traded at $31.27. Approximately 201,253 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 223,663 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Helios Technologies from $65.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Helios Technologies from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

Helios Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.10 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.87.

Helios Technologies (NASDAQ:HLIO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.08. Helios Technologies had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 4.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Helios Technologies, Inc. will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Helios Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. Helios Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.43%.

Helios Technologies declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helios Technologies

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLIO. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Helios Technologies by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 687 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in Helios Technologies by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 70,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,158,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Helios Technologies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 61,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,763,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Helios Technologies by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 89,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Helios Technologies by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.72% of the company’s stock.

Helios Technologies Company Profile

Helios Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered motion control and electronic control technology solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Hydraulics and Electronics. The Hydraulics segment offers cartridge valve technology products to control rates and direction of fluid flow, and to regulate and control pressures for industrial and mobile applications; hydraulic quick release coupling solutions for the agriculture, construction equipment, and industrial markets; motion control technology and fluid conveyance technology; cartridge valve technology; engineered solutions for machine users, manufacturers, or designers.