Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Trading 5.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) shot up 5.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $62.39 and last traded at $62.00. 278,317 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 659,103 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on HELE. UBS Group dropped their target price on Helen of Troy from $79.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

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 $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.80 and its 200-day moving average is $63.48.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $530.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.91 million. Helen of Troy had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 9.31%. Helen of Troy’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC bought a new position in Helen of Troy during the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Helen of Troy in the second quarter worth $270,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy during the third quarter valued at approximately $315,000.

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.