Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Hits New 52-Week Low on Disappointing Earnings

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

The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.50). The company had revenue of $371.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.69 million. Helen of Troy had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The firm's revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on HELE shares. UBS Group set a $29.00 target price on Helen of Troy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Helen of Troy in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Helen of Troy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 3.1% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 780,940 shares of the company's stock worth $41,772,000 after purchasing an additional 23,601 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Helen of Troy by 7.2% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 756,227 shares of the company's stock worth $40,451,000 after buying an additional 50,516 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new stake in Helen of Troy in the 4th quarter valued at $41,248,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Helen of Troy by 446.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 646,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,695,000 after acquiring an additional 528,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Helen of Troy by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 520,422 shares of the company's stock worth $27,837,000 after acquiring an additional 38,268 shares during the last quarter.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $28.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.02. The stock has a market cap of $516.95 million, a P/E ratio of 4.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.00.

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.