Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) Trading Up 4.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE:VTOL) were up 4.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.80 and last traded at $45.5030. Approximately 20,282 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 220,122 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTOL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bristow Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bristow Group in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bristow Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bristow Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Bristow Group Stock Up 3.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.85.

Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.19). Bristow Group had a return on equity of 9.82% and a net margin of 6.66%.The business had revenue of $411.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $407.28 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bristow Group Inc. will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristow Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Bristow Group’s dividend payout ratio is 14.41%.

Insider Activity at Bristow Group

In other Bristow Group news, COO Stuart Stavley sold 10,218 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $472,071.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 64,740 shares in the company, valued at $2,990,988. This represents a 13.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lorin L. Brass sold 1,890 shares of Bristow Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.56, for a total transaction of $87,998.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $878,726.88. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,148 shares of company stock valued at $608,365. 12.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bristow Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VTOL. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Bristow Group in the 1st quarter worth $1,521,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Bristow Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,056,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,313,000 after acquiring an additional 71,638 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bristow Group in the second quarter valued at about $162,017,000. Algert Global LLC grew its position in shares of Bristow Group by 17.1% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 410,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,944,000 after purchasing an additional 59,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Bristow Group by 107.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 81,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,826,000 after purchasing an additional 42,193 shares during the period. 93.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bristow Group

Bristow Group Inc is a global provider of helicopter services to the offshore energy industry and search-and-rescue (SAR) operations worldwide. The company specializes in the safe and efficient transport of personnel, equipment and supplies to offshore oil and gas platforms, as well as emergency response and medevac services. Bristow’s operations support exploration, production and decommissioning activities, helping energy companies maintain continuity of production in some of the world’s most challenging environments.

The company maintains a diverse fleet of turbine-powered helicopters, including medium- and heavy-lift aircraft such as the Sikorsky S-92, Airbus H225 (formerly EC225) and Leonardo AW189.