Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys 316,755 Shares of Helen of Troy Limited $HELE

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Helen of Troy Limited by 1,985.6% in Q1, now holding about 1.45% of the company valued at approximately $17.8 million.
• Insiders, including CFO Tracy Scheuerman and CEO Brian Grass, made substantial stock purchases, totaling 20,435 shares valued at over $425,000 in the past three months.
• Analysts have downgraded their price targets for Helen of Troy, with UBS Group lowering theirs from $32 to $29, reflecting a cautious outlook for the company.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Free Report) by 1,985.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 332,708 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 316,755 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 1.45% of Helen of Troy worth $17,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HELE. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in Helen of Troy in the fourth quarter valued at $545,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Helen of Troy by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,751 shares of the company's stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Helen of Troy by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 258,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,486,000 after purchasing an additional 32,971 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy in the 4th quarter valued at about $365,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 111.8% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 7,352 shares of the company's stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 3,881 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Helen of Troy

In related news, CEO Brian Grass bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.47 per share, for a total transaction of $214,700.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 135,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,918,460.04. The trade was a 7.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Tracy Scheuerman purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.13 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 33,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $665,115.33. This trade represents a 43.40% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 20,435 shares of company stock worth $425,948. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HELE traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.63. 347,783 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 704,091. Helen of Troy Limited has a twelve month low of $20.02 and a twelve month high of $77.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $565.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.70 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.72.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $400.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Helen of Troy's revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $26.00 target price (down from $47.00) on shares of Helen of Troy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Helen of Troy from $32.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.33.

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.