Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 3,384 Shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,689 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,384 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.59% of Helen of Troy worth $7,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 45,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 844.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Helen of Troy

In other Helen of Troy news, CEO Brian Grass acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.47 per share, for a total transaction of $214,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 135,932 shares in the company, valued at $2,918,460.04. This trade represents a 7.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tracy Scheuerman purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.13 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 33,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,115.33. The trade was a 43.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Helen of Troy Price Performance

HELE stock opened at $20.05 on Wednesday. Helen of Troy Limited has a 1 year low of $20.02 and a 1 year high of $77.95. The company has a market cap of $459.95 million, a P/E ratio of -1.38, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.98 and a 200 day moving average of $43.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.50). The business had revenue of $371.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.69 million. Helen of Troy had a positive return on equity of 8.96% and a negative net margin of 17.89%. Helen of Troy’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Helen of Troy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down from $47.00) on shares of Helen of Troy in a research note on Friday, July 11th.

Helen of Troy 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.