Short Interest in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) Decreases By 5.7%

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the December 15th total of 2,270,000 shares. Currently, 9.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 490,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

HELE stock traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.44. 391,770 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 387,216. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.90. Helen of Troy has a 1-year low of $48.05 and a 1-year high of $127.83.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $530.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.91 million. Helen of Troy had a net margin of 6.05% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Helen of Troy will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 30.3% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 783 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 484 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 1.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,464,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 7.9% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,839 shares of the company's stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 10,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on HELE shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Helen of Troy from $79.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of Helen of Troy in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Helen of Troy from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

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.