Prestige Consumer Healthcare (NYSE:PBH) Hits New 52-Week High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:PBH - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $87.39 and last traded at $87.21, with a volume of 768028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.10.

The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. Prestige Consumer Healthcare had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 19.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PBH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Prestige Consumer Healthcare from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Sidoti downgraded shares of Prestige Consumer Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised Prestige Consumer Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Prestige Consumer Healthcare from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Prestige Consumer Healthcare to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider William P'pool sold 8,987 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $735,585.95. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,641,747.30. This trade represents a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Adel Mekhail sold 9,063 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.00, for a total value of $743,166.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,505,930. The trade was a 33.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,810 shares of company stock valued at $3,187,300 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prestige Consumer Healthcare

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of Prestige Consumer Healthcare by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 36,971 shares of the company's stock worth $2,666,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Prestige Consumer Healthcare by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 3,247 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in Prestige Consumer Healthcare by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 3,974 shares of the company's stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Prestige Consumer Healthcare by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,496 shares of the company's stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in Prestige Consumer Healthcare by 39.9% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 635 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company's stock.

Prestige Consumer Healthcare Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.50. The company's 50-day moving average price is $79.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

About Prestige Consumer Healthcare

Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells over-the-counter (OTC) health and personal care products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, North American OTC Healthcare and International OTC Healthcare.