Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 1,026 Shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,393 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Helen of Troy were worth $778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in Helen of Troy by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,913,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,464,000 after purchasing an additional 36,095 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Helen of Troy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in Helen of Troy by 54.0% in the 2nd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 31,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,920,000 after purchasing an additional 11,038 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Helen of Troy during the second quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Helen of Troy during the second quarter valued at approximately $289,000.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HELE opened at $59.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.77. Helen of Troy Limited has a 1 year low of $48.05 and a 1 year high of $127.83.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HELE. StockNews.com cut Helen of Troy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on 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 downgraded Helen of Troy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $139.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Helen of Troy from $100.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th.

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.