Dark Forest Capital Management LP Buys 12,657 Shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) by 54.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,955 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,657 shares during the period. Helen of Troy comprises approximately 0.6% of Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Helen of Troy were worth $3,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,913,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,464,000 after purchasing an additional 36,095 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Helen of Troy by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,761,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,750,000 after buying an additional 114,215 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Helen of Troy by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,970,000 after acquiring an additional 102,767 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 920,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,032,000 after buying an additional 13,206 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 2.7% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 666,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,789,000 after acquiring an additional 17,741 shares in the last quarter.

Helen of Troy Trading Down 3.9 %

HELE opened at $57.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.33 and a 200-day moving average of $84.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Helen of Troy Limited has a twelve month low of $48.05 and a twelve month high of $127.83.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 9th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.85 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Helen of Troy’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Helen of Troy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Helen of Troy from $137.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Helen of Troy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $139.00 to $67.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Helen of Troy from $100.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report 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.