Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $69.06, but opened at $71.03. Helen of Troy shares last traded at $73.66, with a volume of 65,649 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on HELE. DA Davidson increased their target price on Helen of Troy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.12 and its 200 day moving average is $72.95. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $474.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 7.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

Helen of Troy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 39.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Helen of Troy by 153.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 30,278.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,069,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,176,000 after buying an additional 1,066,418 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Helen of Troy in the 2nd quarter valued at $289,000. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Helen of Troy by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 666,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,789,000 after acquiring an additional 17,741 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Helen of Troy by 58.4% during the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 87,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,107,000 after purchasing an additional 32,321 shares during the last quarter.

About Helen of Troy

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.