The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.4667.

Several analysts have issued reports on HNST shares. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Honest from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Honest from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $3.40 price objective on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Stephen Winchell sold 12,886 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.14, for a total value of $40,462.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 483,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,517,540.02. This represents a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 22,556 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 value of $64,284.60. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 725,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,165.20. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,952 shares of company stock valued at $1,097,489. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Honest

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HNST. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Honest by 28.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 223,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 49,342 shares in the last quarter. Amicus Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Honest during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Honest during the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter worth about $448,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Honest by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 186,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 58,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Honest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HNST opened at $3.41 on Monday. Honest has a 1-year low of $2.07 and a 1-year high of $5.28. The company has a market capitalization of $375.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.06 and a beta of 2.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3.12 and a 200-day moving average of $2.78.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.01. The business had revenue of $78.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.25 million. Honest had a positive return on equity of 3.52% and a negative net margin of 5.39%. Research analysts expect that Honest will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Honest announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Honest Company Profile

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.