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

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,380,000 shares, an increase of 11.2% from the November 15th total of 2,140,000 shares. Currently, 10.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 578,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Helen of Troy Price Performance

HELE stock opened at $67.39 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.58. Helen of Troy has a 12-month low of $48.05 and a 12-month high of $127.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.88.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $474.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. Helen of Troy had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 7.35%. Helen of Troy’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Helen of Troy will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

Helen of Troy announced that its board has initiated a share 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 often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HELE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued 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 $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

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. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 374.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Helen of Troy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Helen of Troy by 30.3% in the 3rd 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 position in shares of Helen of Troy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Helen of Troy during the second 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.