Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $7.72 Million Holdings in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) by 37.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,834 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,318 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.55% of Helen of Troy worth $7,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in Helen of Troy by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,913,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,464,000 after purchasing an additional 36,095 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Helen of Troy by 9.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,970,000 after acquiring an additional 102,767 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Helen of Troy by 2.7% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 666,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,789,000 after acquiring an additional 17,741 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 14.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 360,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,498,000 after acquiring an additional 44,758 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Helen of Troy in the second quarter valued at about $29,749,000.

Helen of Troy Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ HELE opened at $67.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Helen of Troy Limited has a 12 month low of $48.05 and a 12 month high of $127.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.02.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $474.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. Helen of Troy had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 9.31%. Helen of Troy’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

Helen of Troy declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 39.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy in a report on Monday, October 7th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Helen of Troy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

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.