Jennison Associates LLC Invests $674,000 in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 10,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 374.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Helen of Troy in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Signaturefd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Helen of Troy during the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 153.7% during 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. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy during the first quarter valued at approximately $263,000.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HELE opened at $69.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.36 and a 200 day moving average of $72.58. 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 capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.85. Helen of Troy Limited has a 52 week low of $48.05 and a 52 week high of $127.83.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $458.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helen of Troy declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 39.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on HELE. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy in a report on Monday, October 7th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Helen of Troy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 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.