The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.93.

HNST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital lowered Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Alliance Global Partners boosted their price objective on Honest from $5.75 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on Honest from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Northland Securities boosted their price objective on Honest from $7.50 to $9.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Honest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HNST opened at $5.40 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $6.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $545.19 million, a PE ratio of -135.00 and a beta of 2.43. Honest has a 1 year low of $2.40 and a 1 year high of $8.97.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $99.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.46 million. Honest had a negative return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 1.13%. As a group, analysts expect that Honest will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jessica Warren sold 465,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.55, for a total value of $3,510,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,170,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,833,937.90. This represents a 28.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter valued at $932,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter valued at $352,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter valued at $159,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Honest by 642.4% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 326,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after buying an additional 282,098 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Honest by 317.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 200,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,387,000 after buying an additional 152,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Honest Company Profile

The Honest Company, Inc manufactures and sells diapers and wipes, skin and personal care, and household and wellness products. The company also offers baby clothing and nursery bedding products. It sells its products through digital and retail sales channels, such as its website and third-party ecommerce sites, as well as brick and mortar retailers.