Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Helios Technologies (NASDAQ:HLIO) Price Target to $58.00

Helios Technologies (NASDAQ:HLIO) had its price objective trimmed by Stifel Nicolaus from $60.00 to $58.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Helios Technologies Stock Performance

Helios Technologies stock opened at $39.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Helios Technologies has a 12 month low of $38.52 and a 12 month high of $57.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.08. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.90 and a beta of 0.87.

Helios Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Helios Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 20th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. Helios Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helios Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLIO. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Helios Technologies by 5,804.4% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 720,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,182,000 after purchasing an additional 708,715 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Helios Technologies by 30.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,820,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,821,000 after buying an additional 428,110 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Helios Technologies during the third quarter valued at $13,633,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Helios Technologies by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,986,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,679,000 after acquiring an additional 266,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sara Bay Financial grew its position in shares of Helios Technologies by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 1,217,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,080,000 after acquiring an additional 247,088 shares during the last quarter. 94.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.