AQR Capital Management LLC Has $5.81 Million Stake in Helen of Troy Limited $HELE

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Helen of Troy Limited by 43.8%, leaving it with a total of $5.81 million worth of shares after selling 85,276 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider trading activity saw CFO Tracy Scheuerman and CEO Brian Grass each purchase 10,000 shares of Helen of Troy, with Scheuerman's buy increasing her stake by 43.4% and Grass's by 7.94%.
• The Q2 earnings report revealed a significant miss, with earnings per share of $0.41 compared to estimates of $0.91, leading analysts to lower their price targets for the stock.

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Free Report) by 43.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,512 shares of the company's stock after selling 85,276 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.48% of Helen of Troy worth $5,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Helen of Troy in the first quarter valued at about $52,000. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Helen of Troy by 137.8% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Helen of Troy in the first quarter valued at about $207,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Helen of Troy in the fourth quarter valued at about $257,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Helen of Troy in the first quarter valued at about $258,000.

Insider Activity at Helen of Troy

In related news, CFO Tracy Scheuerman purchased 10,000 shares of Helen of Troy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.13 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 33,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,115.33. This trade represents a 43.40% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Grass purchased 10,000 shares of Helen of Troy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.47 per share, with a total value of $214,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 135,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,918,460.04. The trade was a 7.94% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 20,435 shares of company stock valued at $425,948 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HELE opened at $24.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.25. Helen of Troy Limited has a 52 week low of $20.02 and a 52 week high of $77.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $553.31 million, a PE ratio of -1.66 and a beta of 0.84.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.50). Helen of Troy had a negative net margin of 17.89% and a positive return on equity of 8.96%. The company had revenue of $371.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.69 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HELE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down from $47.00) on shares of Helen of Troy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Helen of Troy from $32.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.33.

Helen of Troy 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.

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