Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Shares Down 4.2% – Here’s What Happened

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)’s stock price fell 4.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $68.23 and last traded at $68.55. 250,306 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 448,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HELE. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of Helen of Troy in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Helen of Troy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on Helen of Troy from $100.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Helen of Troy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.86.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $474.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. Helen of Troy’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helen of Troy announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 39.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helen of Troy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HELE. CWM LLC boosted its position in Helen of Troy by 374.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Helen of Troy in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Helen of Troy by 153.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Helen of Troy in the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new position in Helen of Troy in the 1st quarter valued at $218,000.

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.