Short Interest in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) Decreases By 5.7%

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Helen of Troy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Helen of Troy by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Helen of Troy by 23.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 38,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,561,000 after purchasing an additional 7,205 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Helen of Troy by 9.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,970,000 after purchasing an additional 102,767 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Helen of Troy during the 2nd quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Helen of Troy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,337,000.

Helen of Troy Trading Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ:HELE opened at $64.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Helen of Troy has a 12 month low of $48.05 and a 12 month high of $127.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.77 and a 200-day simple 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. The company had revenue of $530.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $532.91 million. Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 6.05%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Helen of Troy will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HELE shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Helen of Troy from $79.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. DA Davidson upped their target price 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 price target on shares of Helen of Troy in a report on Monday, October 7th.

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.