Zacks Research Downgrades Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) to Strong Sell

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Helen of Troy from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 9th. CJS Securities upgraded Helen of Troy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Helen of Troy in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Helen of Troy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Helen of Troy Price Performance

HELE stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.51. The company had a trading volume of 85,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,700. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.82. Helen of Troy has a fifty-two week low of $17.01 and a fifty-two week high of $69.05. The company has a market cap of $450.10 million, a P/E ratio of -0.57 and a beta of 0.78.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($0.04). Helen of Troy had a positive return on equity of 8.33% and a negative net margin of 43.97%.The business had revenue of $512.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $502.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Helen of Troy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-3.75 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.530-1.030 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Helen of Troy will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Helen of Troy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HELE. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 30.3% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 985,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,964,000 after purchasing an additional 229,104 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 41.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 69,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after buying an additional 20,248 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Helen of Troy in the 2nd quarter worth $314,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Helen of Troy by 1,086.6% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 158,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,496,000 after acquiring an additional 145,068 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Helen of Troy in the third quarter valued at about $3,633,000.

Helen of Troy Company Profile

Helen of Troy Limited is a global consumer products company that designs, sources and markets a diversified portfolio of household, health and beauty brands. Headquartered in El Paso, Texas, the company operates through three principal segments—Health & Home, Housewares and Beauty—offering products under well-known names including OXO, Vicks, Braun, Honeywell Home, PUR and Hot Tools. Helen of Troy distributes its products through a combination of mass, specialty and e-commerce channels to consumers, retailers and distributors worldwide.

The Housewares segment features kitchen tools, gadgets and organizational solutions marketed primarily under the OXO brand, recognized for its ergonomic “Good Grips” design.