Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.16, Briefing.com reports. Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $474.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Helen of Troy Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ HELE traded down $1.16 on Thursday, reaching $72.36. 965,858 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 448,200. Helen of Troy has a fifty-two week low of $48.05 and a fifty-two week high of $127.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business's fifty day moving average price is $56.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HELE. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of Helen of Troy in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Helen of Troy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Helen of Troy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Helen of Troy from $100.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th.

Helen of Troy announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 39.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Helen of Troy in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Helen of Troy by 374.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Helen of Troy in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Helen of Troy by 153.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Helen of Troy during the first quarter worth approximately $201,000.

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.