Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $20.05, but opened at $21.49. Helen of Troy shares last traded at $22.64, with a volume of 773,501 shares changing hands.

Specifically, CFO Tracy Scheuerman bought 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.13 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 33,041 shares in the company, valued at $665,115.33. This trade represents a 43.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Grass purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.47 per share, with a total value of $214,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 135,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,918,460.04. This trade represents a 7.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HELE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Helen of Troy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group set a $29.00 target price on shares of Helen of Troy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $26.00 target price (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Helen of Troy in a research note on Friday, July 11th.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $27.75 and its 200-day moving average is $42.41. The stock has a market cap of $503.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.50). The company had revenue of $371.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.69 million. Helen of Troy had a negative net margin of 17.89% and a positive return on equity of 8.96%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 111.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 69,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,179,000 after buying an additional 36,795 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 7,625.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 37,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,000,000 after buying an additional 36,906 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 45,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,692,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 364,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,789,000 after buying an additional 162,460 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 446.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 646,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,695,000 after buying an additional 528,305 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.