Helios Technologies (NASDAQ:HLIO) Trading 8.4% Higher - Time to Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLIO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Helios Technologies from $65.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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 Trading Up 1.6%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $29.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.65. 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 company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80 and a beta of 1.22.

Helios Technologies (NASDAQ:HLIO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share 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%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Helios Technologies, Inc. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helios Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Helios Technologies's payout ratio is 32.43%.

Helios Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Helios Technologies

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 13,059 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Helios Technologies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,841,823 shares of the company's stock worth $82,219,000 after buying an additional 21,683 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Helios Technologies by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,438,786 shares of the company's stock worth $64,227,000 after buying an additional 79,178 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Helios Technologies by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 789,915 shares of the company's stock worth $25,349,000 after purchasing an additional 68,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Helios Technologies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 637,703 shares of the company's stock worth $28,467,000 after purchasing an additional 5,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.72% of the company's stock.

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.