Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Sees Large Volume Increase on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. Approximately 298,000 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 222,460 shares.The stock last traded at $93.58 and had previously closed at $100.28.

The company reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.11. Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $489.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.88 million.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Helen of Troy from $121.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Helen of Troy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Helen of Troy from $151.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HELE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Helen of Troy by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,408,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,754,000 after buying an additional 16,124 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,761,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,750,000 after acquiring an additional 114,215 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 920,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,032,000 after acquiring an additional 13,206 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 334,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,995,000 after acquiring an additional 11,285 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Helen of Troy by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 329,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,447,000 after purchasing an additional 26,990 shares in the last quarter.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $113.22 and a 200-day moving average of $112.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.80.

About Helen of Troy

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 preparation tools and gadgets, storage containers, and organization products; coffee makers, grinders, manual pour overs, and tea kettles; household cleaning products, shower organization, and bathroom accessories; feeding and drinking products, child seating, cleaning tools, and nursery accessories; insulated hydration bottles, hydration packs, drinkware, mugs, food containers, lunch containers, insulated totes, soft coolers, and accessories; and technical and outdoor sports packs, travel packs and accessories, luggage, daypacks, and everyday packs.