Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $79.00 to $69.00. The stock had previously closed at $59.29, but opened at $56.88. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Helen of Troy shares last traded at $55.19, with a volume of 222,359 shares trading hands.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on Helen of Troy from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of Helen of Troy in a research note on Monday, October 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HELE. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 13.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in Helen of Troy by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 23,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,145,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Helen of Troy by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 38,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,561,000 after purchasing an additional 7,205 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Helen of Troy by 12.7% in the second quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Helen of Troy in the second quarter worth about $29,749,000.

Helen of Troy Trading Down 3.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $66.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $530.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.91 million. Helen of Troy had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

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.