Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $69.06, but opened at $71.03. Helen of Troy shares last traded at $73.66, with a volume of 65,649 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on HELE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy in a report on Monday, October 7th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Helen of Troy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Helen of Troy Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.58.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $474.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.85 million. Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 7.35%. Helen of Troy’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helen of Troy announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 39.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Helen of Troy in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Helen of Troy by 30.3% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC bought a new position in Helen of Troy during the third quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Helen of Troy by 153.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter.

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.