Vanguard Group Inc. Has $138.99 Million Stock Position in Helen of Troy Limited $HELE

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Helen of Troy Limited by 1.1%, selling 27,988 shares, and now holds 2,598,327 shares valued at approximately $138.98 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their holdings in Helen of Troy, with significant increases including an 80.5% rise in shares owned by Bank of America Corp DE in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have downgraded Helen of Troy's stock recently, with Canaccord Genuity lowering its price target dramatically from $47.00 to $26.00, and the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $44.33.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,598,327 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,988 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.33% of Helen of Troy worth $138,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HELE. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Helen of Troy by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 91,447 shares of the company's stock worth $5,471,000 after acquiring an additional 23,085 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Helen of Troy during the 4th quarter worth $3,367,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Helen of Troy by 844.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 718 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Helen of Troy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,779 shares of the company's stock worth $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Helen of Troy by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 500 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HELE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "hold" rating and issued 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 target price on Helen of Troy from $32.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Helen of Troy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Helen of Troy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Helen of Troy news, CEO Brian Grass purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.47 per share, with a total value of $214,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 135,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,918,460.04. This represents a 7.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Tracy Scheuerman purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were acquired 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 directly 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. Insiders bought 20,435 shares of company stock valued at $425,948 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Helen of Troy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HELE traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.33. The company had a trading volume of 909,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 657,529. The company has a market cap of $558.13 million, a P/E ratio of -1.68 and a beta of 0.86. Helen of Troy Limited has a 52 week low of $20.02 and a 52 week high of $77.95. The business's 50-day moving average is $24.97 and its 200 day moving average is $35.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Helen of Troy's quarterly revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.