Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on VTOL. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Bristow Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bristow Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JonesTrading assumed coverage on Bristow Group in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Bristow Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bristow Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Bristow Group Price Performance

VTOL stock opened at $44.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 1.35. Bristow Group has a 12 month low of $25.11 and a 12 month high of $49.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $377.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.33 million. Bristow Group had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 12.87%.

Bristow Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Bristow Group’s dividend payout ratio is 11.57%.

Insider Activity at Bristow Group

In other Bristow Group news, Director Lorin L. Brass sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.04, for a total transaction of $159,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $905,033.20. This represents a 14.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maryanne Miller sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 20,252 shares in the company, valued at $909,314.80. This represents a 9.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 60,104 shares of company stock valued at $2,824,206 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VTOL. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bristow Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,613,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new position in Bristow Group in the fourth quarter worth $16,942,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Bristow Group during the fourth quarter worth $13,486,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Bristow Group by 21.3% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kestrel Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Bristow Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,876,000. 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.