Pzena Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)

Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Free Report) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 756,227 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,516 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned 3.30% of Helen of Troy worth $40,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 757,339 shares of the company's stock worth $45,312,000 after buying an additional 118,982 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Helen of Troy during the 4th quarter worth $41,248,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 446.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 646,746 shares of the company's stock worth $38,695,000 after buying an additional 528,305 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 440,851 shares of the company's stock worth $26,376,000 after buying an additional 8,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 364,180 shares of the company's stock worth $21,789,000 after buying an additional 162,460 shares during the last quarter.

Helen of Troy Price Performance

Helen of Troy stock traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.94. 1,257,668 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 636,241. 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 company has a market capitalization of $503.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $27.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.67. Helen of Troy Limited has a 1 year low of $20.02 and a 1 year high of $77.95.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $371.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Helen of Troy news, CEO Brian Grass purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was bought at an average price 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. This represents a 7.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Tracy Scheuerman purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.13 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 33,041 shares in the company, valued at $665,115.33. This trade represents a 43.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 20,435 shares of company stock valued at $425,948 in the last 90 days. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HELE. UBS Group set a $29.00 price target on Helen of Troy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Helen of Troy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Helen of Troy in a research report on Friday, July 11th.

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.