Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Trading 6.1% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Helen of Troy's share price increased by 6.1% to $26.22 during trading, although the trading volume was 45% lower than average.
• The company reported a miss in quarterly earnings, with $0.41 earnings per share, falling short of the expected $0.91, and revenue also declined by 10.8% year-over-year.
• Insider transactions saw both the CFO and CEO purchasing shares, indicating confidence in the company, with the CFO increasing their position by 43.40% and the CEO by 7.94%.

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 6.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $25.95 and last traded at $26.22. 386,235 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 703,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HELE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Helen of Troy in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Helen of Troy from $32.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.33.

Helen of Troy Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.90. The firm has a market cap of $594.28 million, a PE ratio of -1.78 and a beta of 0.84. 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 posted 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 business had revenue of $371.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.69 million. Helen of Troy had a positive return on equity of 8.96% and a negative net margin of 17.89%.The business's revenue was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Tracy Scheuerman acquired 10,000 shares of the 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 purchase, the chief financial officer owned 33,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,115.33. This represents a 43.40% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian Grass bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.47 per share, with a total value of $214,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 135,932 shares in the company, valued at $2,918,460.04. This represents a 7.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 20,435 shares of company stock valued at $425,948 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 484.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 68,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 86,169 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 77,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,210,000 after buying an additional 5,350 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 216.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,998 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Helen of Troy by 74.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 3,649 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Helen of Troy in the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000.

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.

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