Haleon (NYSE:HLN) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Haleon (NYSE:HLN) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on HLN. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Haleon from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Haleon from $9.90 to $10.95 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on Haleon in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. They issued a buy rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Haleon presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $10.95.

Haleon Price Performance

Haleon stock opened at $10.37 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.07 and a 200-day moving average of $9.00. Haleon has a 1 year low of $7.70 and a 1 year high of $10.80.

Haleon (NYSE:HLN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). Haleon had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Haleon will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Haleon Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.0514 per share. This represents a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Haleon’s dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in Haleon during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Haleon in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Haleon by 151.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,676 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in Haleon by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Haleon by 66.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 2,677 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.67% of the company’s stock.

About Haleon

Haleon plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of various consumer healthcare products in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides oral health products, such as toothpastes, mouth washes, and denture care products under the Sensodyne, Polident, Parodontax, Biotene brands; and vitamins, minerals, and supplements under Centrum, Emergen-C, Caltrate brands.