Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $932,000 in The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 134,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $932,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Honest as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Honest by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 130,651 shares of the company's stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 49,673 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Honest by 589.7% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,397,636 shares of the company's stock worth $16,616,000 after buying an additional 2,049,981 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Honest during the fourth quarter worth $819,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Honest by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,147,369 shares of the company's stock worth $35,671,000 after buying an additional 1,052,305 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Honest by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,396,615 shares of the company's stock worth $9,678,000 after buying an additional 299,186 shares during the period. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Honest Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Honest stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,320,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,343,994. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.40 and a 52-week high of $8.97. The company has a market cap of $554.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -125.75 and a beta of 2.43. The firm's 50-day moving average is $4.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.84.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Honest had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 3.26%. The company had revenue of $97.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.46 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 12,017 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.32, for a total value of $63,930.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 580,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,089,042.04. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 37,481 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total transaction of $182,532.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 307,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,498,693.80. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 223,207 shares of company stock worth $1,163,795 in the last three months. 8.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Honest has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.70.

Honest Company Profile

The Honest Company, Inc manufactures and sells diapers and wipes, skin and personal care, and household and wellness products. The company also offers baby clothing and nursery bedding products. It sells its products through digital and retail sales channels, such as its website and third-party ecommerce sites, as well as brick and mortar retailers.