Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Purchases 15,970 Shares of Helen of Troy Limited $HELE

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Helen of Troy Limited by 7.7%, now owning approximately $11.99 million worth of shares.
• Helen of Troy reported a loss of $0.50 per share in its recent earnings, below analysts' expectations, and experienced a 10.8% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• Insider purchases by both the CEO and CFO suggest confidence in the company, with significant increases in their shareholdings following recent transactions.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Free Report) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 224,160 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,970 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 0.98% of Helen of Troy worth $11,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HELE. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 3,325.3% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 185,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,929,000 after acquiring an additional 180,197 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 364,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,789,000 after acquiring an additional 162,460 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Helen of Troy by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 757,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,312,000 after purchasing an additional 118,982 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Helen of Troy by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 302,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,111,000 after purchasing an additional 100,767 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Helen of Troy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,732,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $26.00 target price (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Helen of Troy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Helen of Troy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Helen of Troy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.33.

Insider Activity

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

Helen of Troy Price Performance

Shares of HELE traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.41. 136,784 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 704,161. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $560.06 million, a PE ratio of -1.68 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $24.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.71. Helen of Troy Limited has a 12 month low of $20.02 and a 12 month high of $77.95.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $371.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.69 million. Helen of Troy had a negative net margin of 17.89% and a positive return on equity of 8.96%. The company's revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

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.