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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HELE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of Helen of Troy in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Helen of Troy from $100.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Helen of Troy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Helen of Troy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th.

Helen of Troy Trading Down 4.2 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.86.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $474.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.85 million. Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 7.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Institutional Trading of Helen of Troy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy in the 1st quarter valued at about $239,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Helen of Troy by 153.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Helen of Troy by 1.8% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Helen of Troy by 42.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Helen of Troy during the second quarter worth about $289,000.

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.