Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Sees Large Volume Increase - Should You Buy?

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 535,932 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the previous session's volume of 528,371 shares.The stock last traded at $29.36 and had previously closed at $30.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Helen of Troy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Helen of Troy from $68.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Helen of Troy from $92.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $639.19 million, a P/E ratio of 5.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.89. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $46.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $485.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.55 million. Helen of Troy had a net margin of 6.05% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 149,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,003,000 after purchasing an additional 25,713 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Helen of Troy by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 134,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,205,000 after acquiring an additional 3,384 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,926 shares of the company's stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Helen of Troy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 47.0% in the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 7,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266 shares during the period.

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.