D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 483,824 Shares of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN - Free Report) by 56.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 368,415 shares of the company's stock after selling 483,824 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.41% of The Hain Celestial Group worth $2,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HAIN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in The Hain Celestial Group by 68.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 320,457 shares of the company's stock worth $2,766,000 after buying an additional 130,477 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hain Celestial Group by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 65,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 18,019 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of The Hain Celestial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,000. Sageworth Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of The Hain Celestial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of The Hain Celestial Group by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 3,554 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.01% of the company's stock.

The Hain Celestial Group Price Performance

HAIN stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,267,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,743,733. The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1.30 and a 12 month high of $9.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.90.

The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ:HAIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.05). The Hain Celestial Group had a positive return on equity of 2.88% and a negative net margin of 10.51%. The business had revenue of $390.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $414.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HAIN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on The Hain Celestial Group from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on The Hain Celestial Group from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho cut their price objective on The Hain Celestial Group from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on The Hain Celestial Group from $4.00 to $1.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, CL King reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of The Hain Celestial Group in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Celeste A. Clark bought 83,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.79 per share, for a total transaction of $148,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,570. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Neil Campbell bought 25,640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.93 per share, with a total value of $49,485.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,452.97. The trade was a 68.76% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 308,640 shares of company stock worth $518,055 in the last three months. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About The Hain Celestial Group

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc manufactures, markets, and sells organic and natural products in United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and internationally. It operates through two segments: North America and International. The company offers infant formula; infant, toddler, and kids' food; plant-based beverages and frozen desserts, such as soy, rice, oat, and spelt; and condiments.