Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

VTOL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Bristow Group in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bristow Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bristow Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, JonesTrading started coverage on shares of Bristow Group in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Bristow Group Trading Down 0.4%

VTOL stock opened at $42.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.33. Bristow Group has a 52 week low of $28.03 and a 52 week high of $50.38.

Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.57). The firm had revenue of $388.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.68 million. Bristow Group had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 7.51%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bristow Group will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maryanne Miller sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.90, for a total transaction of $98,780.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $909,314.80. This trade represents a 9.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart Stavley sold 24,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.02, for a total transaction of $1,171,174.16. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 85,790 shares in the company, valued at $4,033,845.80. The trade was a 22.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 61,104 shares of company stock worth $2,869,206 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bristow Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Bristow Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bristow Group by 8.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Bristow Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bristow Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 79,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,900,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Bristow Group by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.29% of the company’s stock.

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.