Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $20.05, but opened at $21.49. Helen of Troy shares last traded at $22.64, with a volume of 773,501 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CFO Tracy Scheuerman bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.13 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 33,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $665,115.33. This trade represents a 43.40% 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, CEO Brian Grass purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.47 per share, for a total transaction of $214,700.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HELE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Helen of Troy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $47.00) on shares of Helen of Troy in a report on Friday, July 11th.

Helen of Troy Stock Up 11.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $513.63 million, a P/E ratio of -1.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.93.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.50). The company had revenue of $371.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.69 million. Helen of Troy had a negative net margin of 17.89% and a positive return on equity of 8.96%. The business’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. As a group, research analysts predict that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HELE. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 3.1% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 780,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,772,000 after purchasing an additional 23,601 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Helen of Troy by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 756,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,451,000 after buying an additional 50,516 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,248,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Helen of Troy by 446.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 646,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,695,000 after acquiring an additional 528,305 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Helen of Troy by 7.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 520,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,837,000 after acquiring an additional 38,268 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.