Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Free Report) by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 124,834 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 34,318 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.55% of Helen of Troy worth $7,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Helen of Troy by 30,278.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,069,940 shares of the company's stock worth $66,176,000 after buying an additional 1,066,418 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 116.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 57,716 shares of the company's stock worth $3,570,000 after acquiring an additional 30,993 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 2.7% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 666,256 shares of the company's stock worth $61,789,000 after acquiring an additional 17,741 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Helen of Troy during the second quarter valued at about $829,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Helen of Troy by 1,178.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 51,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,758,000 after purchasing an additional 47,290 shares during the last quarter.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

HELE traded up $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.83. 406,752 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,783. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Helen of Troy Limited has a 1 year low of $48.05 and a 1 year high of $127.83. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $66.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.88.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.16. Helen of Troy had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The firm had revenue of $474.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helen of Troy announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 39.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Helen of Troy from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of Helen of Troy in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

About Helen of Troy

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.