Helios Technologies (NASDAQ:HLIO) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Helios Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIO - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $31.52, but opened at $32.77. Helios Technologies shares last traded at $33.40, with a volume of 24,228 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised Helios Technologies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Helios Technologies from $65.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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 quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 1.25.

Helios Technologies (NASDAQ:HLIO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Helios Technologies, Inc. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helios Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Helios Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLIO. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Helios Technologies by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 687 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Helios Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Helios Technologies by 406.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Helios Technologies by 7,183.3% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Helios Technologies by 148.8% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 3,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 2,232 shares during the last quarter. 94.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Helios Technologies

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.