Haleon (NYSE:HLN) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $10.85 and last traded at $10.75, with a volume of 4552244 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HLN. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Haleon from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Haleon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Haleon from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.95.

Haleon Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.83. The stock has a market cap of $48.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Haleon (NYSE:HLN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter. Haleon had a return on equity of 14.76% and a net margin of 10.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Haleon plc will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Haleon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.1166 dividend. This is a positive change from Haleon's previous -- dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Haleon's payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Haleon

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HLN. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in shares of Haleon by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 199,348 shares of the company's stock worth $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 49,897 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Haleon by 8.3% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,256,449 shares of the company's stock worth $12,929,000 after acquiring an additional 95,990 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Haleon by 42.2% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 91,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 27,192 shares during the last quarter. Prospect Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Haleon by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Prospect Financial Group LLC now owns 16,056 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Haleon by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 37,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 6.67% of the company's stock.

Haleon Company Profile

Haleon plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of various consumer healthcare products in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides oral health products, such as toothpastes, mouth washes, and denture care products under the Sensodyne, Polident, Parodontax, Biotene brands; and vitamins, minerals, and supplements under Centrum, Emergen-C, Caltrate brands.