Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Weak Earnings

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $21.20 and last traded at $23.23, with a volume of 1927721 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.00.

The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.50). The firm had revenue of $371.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.69 million. Helen of Troy had a positive return on equity of 8.96% and a negative net margin of 17.89%. 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 business earned $0.99 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HELE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Helen of Troy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Helen of Troy in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group set a $29.00 target price on shares of Helen of Troy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Helen of Troy by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 500 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Helen of Troy by 844.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 718 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Helen of Troy by 917.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 814 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Helen of Troy in the first quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Helen of Troy by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter.

Helen of Troy Trading Down 5.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $517.30 million, a P/E ratio of -1.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $28.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.50.

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.