Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Shares Up 7% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) shot up 7% during mid-day trading on Monday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $78.00. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Helen of Troy traded as high as $75.00 and last traded at $74.82. 39,056 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 443,681 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.92.

Separately, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of Helen of Troy in a report on Monday, October 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HELE. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 374.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC acquired a new position in Helen of Troy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Helen of Troy by 153.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter.

Helen of Troy Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $64.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.85.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $474.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. Helen of Troy’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Helen of Troy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 39.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.