Helios Technologies, Inc (NYSE:HLIO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Helios Technologies, Inc (NYSE:HLIO) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.75.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Helios Technologies from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Helios Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Helios Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Helios Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Helios Technologies from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Helios Technologies Price Performance

Shares of HLIO opened at $68.34 on Friday. Helios Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $27.12 and a fifty-two week high of $76.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 47.13 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.90.

Helios Technologies (NYSE:HLIO) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.09. Helios Technologies had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 9.36%. The firm had revenue of $210.70 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. Helios Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Helios Technologies will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helios Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Helios Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 13th. Helios Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helios Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Helios Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Helios Technologies by 948.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Helios Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Helios Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Helios Technologies by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.72% of the company’s stock.

About Helios Technologies

Helios Technologies, Inc develops and manufactures engineered motion control and electronic control products for a wide range of industrial and mobile equipment applications. The company’s Hydraulics segment designs and produces hydraulic cartridge valves, manifold systems, pumps and motors, filtration solutions and off-highway joysticks. Its Electronic Controls segment offers programmable electronic control units, wireless telematics, human-machine interfaces and software to optimize performance, efficiency and safety for equipment OEMs and end users.

Through its global network of manufacturing facilities, service centers and technology centers, Helios Technologies serves markets in agriculture, construction, material handling, mining, municipal and recreational vehicles, as well as industrial automation and infrastructure equipment.