Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 134,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $932,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Honest as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Honest during the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Utah Retirement Systems bought a new stake in shares of Honest during the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Honest during the 4th quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Walleye Trading LLC bought a new stake in shares of Honest during the 4th quarter valued at about $109,000. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.70.

Honest Price Performance

Shares of Honest stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $5.20. 538,058 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,289,941. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.40 and a 12-month high of $8.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $572.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -130.38 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.82.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $97.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.46 million. Honest had a negative return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 1.13%. On average, analysts forecast that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 37,481 shares of Honest stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total transaction of $182,532.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 307,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,498,693.80. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen Winchell sold 20,000 shares of Honest stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.98, for a total value of $99,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 431,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,150,583.12. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Honest Company Profile

The Honest Company, Inc manufactures and sells diapers and wipes, skin and personal care, and household and wellness products. The company also offers baby clothing and nursery bedding products. It sells its products through digital and retail sales channels, such as its website and third-party ecommerce sites, as well as brick and mortar retailers.