Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 27,988 Shares of 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. decreased its position in shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,598,327 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,988 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.33% of Helen of Troy worth $138,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Helen of Troy by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 757,339 shares of the company's stock worth $45,312,000 after acquiring an additional 118,982 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Helen of Troy by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 756,227 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,451,000 after purchasing an additional 50,516 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position 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 worth $18,111,000 after buying an additional 100,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Helen of Troy by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 258,835 shares of the company's stock worth $15,486,000 after buying an additional 32,971 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HELE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.33.

Helen of Troy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HELE opened at $24.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Helen of Troy Limited has a twelve month low of $20.02 and a twelve month high of $77.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $559.28 million, a P/E ratio of -1.68 and a beta of 0.86.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last released 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). Helen of Troy had a positive return on equity of 8.96% and a negative net margin of 17.89%.The company had revenue of $371.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Helen of Troy's revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Helen of Troy news, CEO Brian Grass purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the chief executive officer owned 135,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,918,460.04. This represents a 7.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Tracy Scheuerman purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.13 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 33,041 shares in the company, valued at $665,115.33. The trade was a 43.40% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 20,435 shares of company stock worth $425,948. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Helen of Troy Company 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.

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