Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) Trading Up 3.2% – Still a Buy?

Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE:VTOL)’s stock price shot up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $39.16 and last traded at $38.5520. 233,847 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 61% from the average session volume of 145,339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VTOL. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bristow Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bristow Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Bristow Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.48 and a 200 day moving average of $36.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.78. The business had revenue of $386.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.00 million. Bristow Group had a return on equity of 14.83% and a net margin of 9.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bristow Group

In other news, Director George Mark Mickelson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.40, for a total value of $384,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 60,265 shares in the company, valued at $2,314,176. The trade was a 14.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alternative Asset Manage Solus sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $7,610,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,876,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,462,087.80. The trade was a 6.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 221,000 shares of company stock worth $8,417,775 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bristow Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bristow Group by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,224,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,387,000 after purchasing an additional 215,214 shares during the period. Kestrel Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in Bristow Group in the third quarter worth $4,876,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Bristow Group by 176.8% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 210,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,605,000 after buying an additional 134,616 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in Bristow Group by 112.6% during the second quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 250,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,274,000 after buying an additional 132,926 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in Bristow Group by 204.9% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 158,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,719,000 after acquiring an additional 106,514 shares during the last quarter. 93.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bristow Group Company Profile

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.