Short Interest in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) Increases By 11.2%

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) was the target of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,380,000 shares, a growth of 11.2% from the November 15th total of 2,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 578,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days. Currently, 10.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Helen of Troy Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ HELE opened at $67.39 on Tuesday. Helen of Troy has a 52 week low of $48.05 and a 52 week high of $127.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.88. 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 fifty day moving average of $67.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.58.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.16. Helen of Troy had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The firm had revenue of $474.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Helen of Troy will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Helen of Troy declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 39.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HELE. 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 purchased a new stake in Helen of Troy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Helen of Troy by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Helen of Troy during the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy during the second quarter valued at approximately $270,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Helen of Troy from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy in a research note on Monday, October 7th.

Helen of Troy Company 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.