Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Sees Large Volume Increase After Strong Earnings

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 298,000 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 222,460 shares.The stock last traded at $93.58 and had previously closed at $100.28.

The company reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.11. Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 8.41%. The business had revenue of $489.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $477.88 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Helen of Troy from $151.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Helen of Troy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Helen of Troy from $121.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HELE. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 6,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Helen of Troy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its holdings in Helen of Troy by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 2,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Helen of Troy by 5.0% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $113.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.80.

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 preparation tools and gadgets, storage containers, and organization products; coffee makers, grinders, manual pour overs, and tea kettles; household cleaning products, shower organization, and bathroom accessories; feeding and drinking products, child seating, cleaning tools, and nursery accessories; insulated hydration bottles, hydration packs, drinkware, mugs, food containers, lunch containers, insulated totes, soft coolers, and accessories; and technical and outdoor sports packs, travel packs and accessories, luggage, daypacks, and everyday packs.