Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Invests $1.06 Million in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HELE. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Helen of Troy by 30,278.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,069,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,176,000 after buying an additional 1,066,418 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,962,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Helen of Troy during the 2nd quarter worth $29,749,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Helen of Troy during the third quarter worth about $13,800,000. Finally, Clearline Capital LP acquired a new position in Helen of Troy in the third quarter valued at about $12,725,000.

Helen of Troy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HELE opened at $72.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.97 and a 200-day moving average of $70.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.88. Helen of Troy Limited has a fifty-two week low of $48.05 and a fifty-two week high of $127.83.

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

Helen of Troy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 39.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of Helen of Troy in a research note on Monday, October 7th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Helen of Troy from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th.

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.