Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Helios Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIO)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Helios Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIO - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,971,463 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,065 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 5.92% of Helios Technologies worth $63,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Helios Technologies by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 157,551 shares of the company's stock worth $7,033,000 after buying an additional 22,680 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Helios Technologies by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,328,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,568,000 after purchasing an additional 13,059 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Helios Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,079,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Helios Technologies by 150.2% in the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 219,900 shares of the company's stock worth $9,816,000 after purchasing an additional 132,007 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in Helios Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $517,000. 94.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLIO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Helios Technologies from $65.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Helios Technologies from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

Helios Technologies Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ HLIO opened at $33.45 on Tuesday. Helios Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.76 and a 12-month high of $57.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.88 and a 200 day moving average of $37.52.

Helios Technologies (NASDAQ:HLIO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.08. Helios Technologies had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 4.57%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Helios Technologies's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Helios Technologies, Inc. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helios Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Helios Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.43%.

Helios Technologies announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Helios Technologies 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.

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