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Helen of Troy (HELE): Price cycling in bullish 'pennant' formation

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ: HELE) sells personal care and household consumer products. The personal care goods include such items as hair dryers, curling irons, hair setters, women's shavers and skin care products. The firm offers its own lines (e.g: Helen of Troy, Hot Tools and Hot Spa), as well as licensed merchandise (e.g: Vidal Sassoon, Revlon and Dr. Scholl's). On the household side, offerings include kitchen tools, household cleaning items, gardening tools and rechargeable lighting devices. Products are sold through beauty supply distributors and such mass merchandisers as Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT). Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a major competitor.

The company pleased investors last week, when it reported fiscal Q1 EPS of 42 cents and revenues of $145 million. Analysts had been looking for 30 cents and $142.8 million. The sales figure was a company first quarter record.

Continue reading Helen of Troy (HELE): Price cycling in bullish 'pennant' formation

Earnings highlights: GE, Alcoa, Marriott, Pepsi Bottling, Wal-Mart, Boeing and others

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: GE, Alcoa, Marriott, Pepsi Bottling, Wal-Mart, Boeing and others

Helen of Troy (HELE) launches great earnings but ...

Household and personal care products manufacturer Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ: HELE) posted record 1Q sales and earnings up 29%. Great news, until one reads these earnings exclude "significant items" such as $7.6 million in write-down of intangible assets, and $2.5 million bad debt charge for a customer bankruptcy. Take $10+ million off the top and the results, thought still favorable, are considerably less impressive. The company did set 1Q sales, up 3.4% overall, driven primarily by a 15% increase in sales in the Household Products segment which includes OXO and Dr. Scholl's brands. Sales in the Personal Care segment, which includes Vidal Sassoon, Brut and Revlon, were flat. Operating income and gross margins are headed up. Administrative expenses and inventory levels are headed down, all good news.

If all the "significant items" are out in the open and have been taken out of earnings, Helen of Troy is worth some due diligence. The stock currently trades under $19, up from its 52-week low of $14.56.

Analyst initiations: MPEL, HELE, LHCG and OFG

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Melco PBL Entertainment, Helen of Troy, LHC Group and Oriental Financial were today's noteworthy initiations:
  • Jefferies initiated shares of Melco PBL Entertainment (NASDAQ: MPEL) with a Buy rating and $21 target, as they believe the possibility of A-Max, a VIP junket consolidator, moving up to 10 junkets to the Crown Casino could lead to short-term gains and notes that MPEL is the only Macau pure play in the U.S. stock market.
  • Jefferies also started shares of Helen of Troy (NASDAQ: HELE) with a Hold rating and $21 target, as they sees risks to near-term EPS from soft consumer demand and gross margin pressures.
  • Credit Suisse expects LHC Group's (NASDAQ: LHCG) rural-focused strategy and joint venture partnerships to drive organic growth and started shares off with an Outperform rating and $26 target.
  • Oriental Financial Group (NYSE: OFG) was initiated at B. Riley with a Neutral rating and $12.50 target. The firm does not expect significant multiple expansion from current levels given the slow Puerto Rican economy.
OTHER INITIATIONS:

Brut (HELE) sued over burning accident

I actually have a bottle of Brut, made by Helen of Troy Corp. (NASDAQ: HELE), in my closet, but I think I might go ahead and throw it away now.

An 81-year old Milwaukee man has sued the makers of Brut after it ignited and burned his hands, chest, and neck. He suffered burns on 30% of his body, and had to undergo three skin grafts. According to the Associated Press, "He washed and shaved in a bathhouse on the camp grounds and applied Brut lotion to his face, neck and chest with his hands. He also used the aerosol deodorant. He then went to a fire pit to cook breakfast."

While he was starting the fire, his body ignited, allegedly because of the products' flammable properties.

A few weeks ago on BloggingStocks, I wrote about high schools that are moving to ban students from wearing cologne because it can be irritating to other students and teachers. The piece brought out passions on both sides of the debate, generating 550 comments.

But the danger of igniting may be a more compelling reason for teens to be careful with these products than, for example, concern for the comfort of their teachers.

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Last updated: November 21, 2008: 09:06 PM

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