Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

HELE has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Helen of Troy from $68.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Helen of Troy from $92.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Helen of Troy Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ HELE traded down $0.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.47. 796,678 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 545,448. The firm has a market capitalization of $561.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.91. The business's fifty day moving average is $42.37 and its 200 day moving average is $56.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.92. Helen of Troy has a fifty-two week low of $24.15 and a fifty-two week high of $110.76.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by ($0.02). Helen of Troy had a net margin of 6.05% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The firm had revenue of $485.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.55 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. The company's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Helen of Troy will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Helen of Troy by 13.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 83,889 shares of the company's stock worth $5,189,000 after buying an additional 5,920 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Helen of Troy by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 484 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Helen of Troy by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 48,961 shares of the company's stock worth $2,923,000 after buying an additional 2,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in Helen of Troy by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 10,032 shares of the company's stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period.

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.