Villanova Investment Management Co LLC Makes New Investment in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)

Villanova Investment Management Co LLC acquired a new position in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC owned 0.09% of Helen of Troy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HELE. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in Helen of Troy by 1.9% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,913,566 shares of the company's stock worth $177,464,000 after acquiring an additional 36,095 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Helen of Troy by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,414 shares of the company's stock worth $106,970,000 after purchasing an additional 102,767 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Helen of Troy by 30,278.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,069,940 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,418 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Helen of Troy by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 894,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,336,000 after purchasing an additional 31,582 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Helen of Troy by 2.7% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 666,256 shares of the company's stock worth $61,789,000 after buying an additional 17,741 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HELE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy in a research report on Monday, October 7th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Helen of Troy from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th.

Helen of Troy Price Performance

Shares of Helen of Troy stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 256,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 390,677. The company has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.51. Helen of Troy Limited has a 12-month low of $48.05 and a 12-month high of $127.83.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.16. Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 7.35%. The company had revenue of $474.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $458.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect 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 initiated a share 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 buy up to 39.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.