Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on HNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $3.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Honest from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $3.00 target price on Honest in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.00.

Honest Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Honest stock opened at $2.88 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.92. The company has a market cap of $323.91 million, a P/E ratio of -20.57 and a beta of 2.27. Honest has a 12-month low of $2.07 and a 12-month high of $5.55.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $88.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.57 million. Honest had a positive return on equity of 4.57% and a negative net margin of 4.22%. Analysts predict that Honest will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Honest declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Honest

In other Honest news, insider Dorria L. Ball sold 15,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $43,032.15. Following the sale, the insider owned 432,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,232,040.75. This represents a 3.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kunssberg Etienne Von sold 12,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $34,710.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 308,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $879,823.50. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 191,894 shares of company stock valued at $546,898 over the last three months. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HNST. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Honest by 1,392.2% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 6,599 shares during the last quarter. Equity Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Honest in the third quarter worth $37,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Honest during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Amicus Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Honest during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Honest in the 2nd quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

About Honest

The Honest Company, Inc (NASDAQ: HNST) is an American consumer goods firm specializing in eco-friendly and responsibly formulated products for babies, personal care, beauty and home cleaning. The company emphasizes transparency in ingredient sourcing and product safety, positioning itself in the premium segment of mass-market retail and direct-to-consumer channels.

Honest was founded in 2011 by actress Jessica Alba and environmental health advocate Christopher Gavigan with a mission to offer parents household and baby care items free from harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances.