Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $79.00 to $69.00. The stock had previously closed at $59.29, but opened at $56.88. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Helen of Troy shares last traded at $55.19, with a volume of 222,359 shares changing hands.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Helen of Troy from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy in a report on Monday, October 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HELE. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Helen of Troy by 30,278.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,069,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,418 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Helen of Troy during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,962,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Helen of Troy during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,749,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Helen of Troy during the 3rd quarter worth about $14,303,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy during the 3rd quarter worth about $13,800,000.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.07. Helen of Troy had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The business had revenue of $530.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $532.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

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.