Haleon (NYSE:HLN) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Haleon shares opened higher, rising from a prior close of $8.87 to $9.13 before trading at approximately $9.07, though the price remained below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: Haleon has an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, with two Strong Buy, two Buy, four Hold and one Sell rating.
• The company reduced its dividend to $0.0642 per share from $0.1307, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.67% of the stock.

Haleon PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:HLN - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $8.87, but opened at $9.13. Haleon shares last traded at $9.0650, with a volume of 2,350,681 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HLN. Wall Street Zen cut Haleon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Haleon in a report on Friday, September 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Haleon from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Haleon Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $9.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $39.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.14.

Haleon Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.0642 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 132.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This is a decrease from Haleon's previous dividend of $0.1307. Haleon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.77%.

Institutional Trading of Haleon

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Haleon by 82.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 14,674,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,892,000 after buying an additional 6,647,329 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Haleon by 17.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,934,228 shares of the company's stock worth $109,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586,230 shares in the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Haleon by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 10,454,868 shares of the company's stock worth $105,699,000 after acquiring an additional 505,000 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Haleon by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,441,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Haleon by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,397,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,651 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.67% of the company's stock.

Haleon Company Profile

Haleon plc NYSE: HLN is a global consumer healthcare company headquartered in Weybridge, England. The company develops, manufactures and markets over-the-counter medicines, oral healthcare products, nutritional supplements and other consumer health products sold through pharmacies, retailers and e-commerce channels.

Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Sensodyne, Polident and parodontax in oral healthcare; Advil, Panadol, Voltaren and Theraflu in pain relief and respiratory care; and Centrum and Emergen-C in vitamins, minerals and supplements.

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