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Investing.com - UBS has lowered its price target on Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) to $32.00 from $34.00 while maintaining a Neutral rating ahead of the company’s first-quarter earnings report. According to InvestingPro data, analyst price targets for the stock currently range from $32 to $60, with the company maintaining a "Good" overall financial health score.
Helen of Troy is scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings next Thursday, July 10, before the market opens. UBS forecasts earnings per share of $0.97, slightly above the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $0.94.
The consumer products company’s stock has declined significantly year-to-date, falling 53% compared to a 19% drop for small and mid-cap home and personal care stocks. Despite this decline, UBS notes the stock’s valuation appears attractive compared to its history, trading at approximately a 50% discount to peers versus its two-year historical average discount of 23%.
UBS indicates that investor conversations suggest limited willingness to invest in Helen of Troy at this stage due to the wide range of potential outcomes for both top and bottom line results. While management updates on future plans could potentially be viewed as "better than feared" and trigger a positive stock reaction, UBS believes such a response would likely be short-lived.
The firm identifies top-line visibility as the key obstacle preventing investors from taking a more constructive view on the stock, and does not expect the upcoming earnings report to address these concerns sufficiently.
In other recent news, Helen of Troy Ltd reported its fourth-quarter earnings for fiscal 2025, showing mixed results. The company experienced a slight miss on earnings per share (EPS), which came in at $2.33 compared to the forecast of $2.39, while revenue slightly exceeded expectations at $485.9 million against a predicted $482.24 million. Despite the revenue beat, the company’s operating margin fell significantly to 0.4% from 13.5% the previous year, contributing to a negative market reaction. The company is not providing fiscal 2026 guidance due to uncertainties related to trade policies and potential tariff impacts, which are expected to affect the company’s financials by over $200 million. Helen of Troy is implementing cost control measures and supply chain diversification to mitigate 70-80% of the anticipated tariff impacts. The company also highlighted recent product innovations and acquisitions, including Olive and June, which outperformed expectations. Analysts have not provided upgrades or downgrades for Helen of Troy, but the company’s strategic responses to challenges were discussed during the earnings call.
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