Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, a decline of 5.7% from the December 15th total of 2,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 490,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days. Approximately 9.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Helen of Troy from $79.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Helen of Troy from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of Helen of Troy in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

Helen of Troy Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ HELE opened at $64.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Helen of Troy has a 1 year low of $48.05 and a 1 year high of $127.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.77 and a 200 day moving average of $62.46.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.07. Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 6.05%. The firm had revenue of $530.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $532.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Helen of Troy will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Helen of Troy by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 484 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 30.3% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy during the third quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Helen of Troy in the 2nd quarter worth about $270,000.

Helen of Troy Company 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.