Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) Short Interest Down 9.6% in October

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,260,000 shares, a decline of 9.6% from the October 15th total of 2,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 637,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 10.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

Shares of HELE traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $65.47. 422,164 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 443,669. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.85. Helen of Troy has a fifty-two week low of $48.05 and a fifty-two week high of $127.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $63.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.16. Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 7.35%. The company had revenue of $474.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Helen of Troy will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Helen of Troy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 39.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Helen of Troy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HELE. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 374.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Helen of Troy in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 153.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Helen of Troy by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC purchased a new position in Helen of Troy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Helen of Troy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy in a research note on Monday, October 7th.

Helen of Troy Company Profile

Helen of Troy Limited provides various consumer products in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates in two segments: Home & Outdoor and Beauty & Wellness. The Home & Outdoor segment offers food storage containers, kitchen utensils for cooking and preparing salads, fruits, vegetables and meats, graters, slicers and choppers, baking essentials, kitchen organization, bath, cleaning, infant and toddler products, and coffee preparation tools and electronics; and insulated beverageware, including bottles, travel tumblers, drinkware, mugs, food and lunch containers, insulated totes, soft coolers, outdoor kitchenware, and accessories.