Meeder Asset Management Inc. Acquires 2,727 Shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,754 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,727 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Helen of Troy were worth $480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 211.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 17,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after buying an additional 12,162 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy in the 3rd quarter worth about $500,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Helen of Troy by 37.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 124,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,721,000 after buying an additional 34,318 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC acquired a new stake in Helen of Troy during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,702,000. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 6.6% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 58,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,607,000 after buying an additional 3,609 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Helen of Troy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HELE opened at $67.09 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.02. Helen of Troy Limited has a 1-year low of $48.05 and a 1-year high of $127.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.85. 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 (NASDAQ:HELE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.16. Helen of Troy had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company had revenue of $474.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helen of Troy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire 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 stock is undervalued.

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.