Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) Short Interest Update

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,260,000 shares, a drop of 9.6% from the October 15th total of 2,500,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 637,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 10.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Helen of Troy Price Performance

Helen of Troy stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $65.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 422,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,669. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.85. Helen of Troy has a twelve month low of $48.05 and a twelve month high of $127.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $63.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.23. 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 announced 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 company had revenue of $474.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. Helen of Troy’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Helen of Troy will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Helen of Troy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 39.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 374.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Helen of Troy in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Helen of Troy by 153.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Helen of Troy by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Helen of Troy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Helen of Troy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy in a report on Monday, October 7th.

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 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.