Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Invests $270,000 in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 374.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 153.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000.

Helen of Troy Trading Up 0.3 %

Helen of Troy stock opened at $61.85 on Tuesday. Helen of Troy Limited has a fifty-two week low of $48.05 and a fifty-two week high of $127.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $55.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.69, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 9th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.60). Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $416.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HELE. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Helen of Troy from $137.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. DA Davidson cut shares of Helen of Troy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $139.00 to $67.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Helen of Troy from $100.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Helen of Troy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th.

Helen of Troy 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.