Tag - NASDAQGS:HELE

Merger and acquisition activity is lifting the bid for many consumer stocks. In the past few weeks, Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO) said it would focus on its spirits business, including Jim Beam, and split off its consumer goods and sports products, making them ripe for acquisition. And an investor group headed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is looking to unlock the value in Del Monte Brands (NYSE: DLM), which it's acquiring for $5.3 billion.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:RIGL), MSC Software Corp. (Nasdaq:MSCS) and Blue Nile Inc. (Nasdaq:NILE) are among the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: World Acceptance Corp. (Nasdaq:WRLD), MAP Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:MAPP), Century Aluminum Co. (Nasdaq:CENX), Ciena Corp. (Nasdaq:CIEN), Helen of Troy Ltd. (Nasdaq:HELE) and Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:SOLF).

Ferro Corp. (Nasdaq:FOE), Isramco Inc. (Nasdaq:ISRL) and Walter Investment Management Corp. (Nasdaq:WAC) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Citizens Holdings Co. (Nasdaq:CIZN), Sport Supply Group Inc. (Nasdaq:RBI), Helen of Troy Ltd. (Nasdaq:HELE), WHX Corp. (Nasdaq:WXCO), Lannett Co Inc. (Nasdaq:LCI) and Bridgford Foods Corp. (Nasdaq:BRID).

A M Castle & Co. (Nasdaq:CAS), Gaylord Entertainment Co. (Nasdaq:GET) and First United Corp Maryland (Nasdaq:FUNC) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: SL Green Rlty REIT (Nasdaq:SLG), Helen of Troy Ltd. (Nasdaq:HELE), Imperial Sugar Co. (Nasdaq:IPSU), Dollar Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:DLLR), M I Homes Inc. (Nasdaq:MHO) and West Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:WTBA).

Helen of Troy Corp Ltd. (Nasdaq:HELE) is the sole 52-week high on Thursday's session.

Small-cap stocks climbed back from a morning slide, and made a secondary run at positive territory before gravitating slightly lower at mid-session as a rally in energy and homebuilder stocks was offset by losses in financial and airline shares. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVAV), AeroVironment, Inc. (Nasdaq:LOPE) and Multi-Fineline Electronix (Nasdaq:MFLX).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The chart picture retains a positive slant after Friday’s solid close above important resistance points.  
• In overseas action, European markets rose more than 1%, while Asia also gained about 1%.  
• Within the commodity theme, crude oil prices slipped into negative territory ahead of the U.S. open, giving back decent overnight gains amid geopolitical tensions.  
• Mining shares were firm overnight and remain a sector to watch in U.S. trading today.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Grand Canyon Education, Inc. and AeroVironment, Inc. established new 52-week highs shortly after the opening. (See Nasdaq:AVAV, Nasdaq:LOPE)  
• Multi-Fineline Electronix is up 23.5% to $15.17 after raising its Q1 sales outlook this morning. (See Nasdaq:MFLX)  
• Teradyne is up 10.3% to $5.15 after Barclays Capital this morning upgraded the company from "Equal Weight" to "Overweight." (See NYSE:TER)
• Eagle Bulk Shipping and DryShips Inc. are posting gains of 10.2% and 5.1%, respectively, in pre-market trading. (See Nasdaq:EGLE, Nasdaq:DRYS)

Small Cap Losers:

• CONMED Corp. and Digi International established new 52-week lows in early trading. (See Nasdaq:CNMD,Nasdaq:DGII)  
• GSI Commerce, Inc. is down 14.6% after a downgrade this morning by Stifel Nicolaus. (See Nasdaq:GSIC)  
• Helen of Troy Limited is down nearly 11% to $15.80 after a downgrade by JPMorgan. (See Nasdaq:HELE)  
• Varian Semiconductor Equipment is down 5.4% to $17.60 in pre-market trading after issuing revised rev and earnings estimates for Q1. (See Nasdaq:VSEA)

CONMED Corp (Nasdaq:CNMD), RC2 Corp (Nasdaq:RCRC) and Digi International Inc (Nasdaq:DGII) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Transcontinental Realty Investors Inc (Nasdaq:TCI), Nara Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:NARA), GSI Commerce Inc (Nasdaq:GSIC), PacWest Bancorp Ord Shs (Nasdaq:PACW), UCBH Holdings Inc (Nasdaq:UCBH) and Helen of Troy Ltd (Nasdaq:HELE).

Small-cap stocks edged lower this morning, pulled down by ideas Friday’s gains were overdone, by ongoing worries about the credit crisis and the economic recession and by a batch of soft earnings announcements in the small-cap sphere this morning. Losses were limited by optimism about fiscal stimulus plans when President-elect Obama takes office later this month. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVAV), AeroVironment, Inc. (Nasdaq:LOPE) and Multi-Fineline Electronix (Nasdaq:MFLX).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The chart picture retains a positive slant after Friday’s solid close above important resistance points.  
• In overseas action, European markets rose more than 1%, while Asia also gained about 1%.  
• Within the commodity theme, crude oil prices slipped into negative territory ahead of the U.S. open, giving back decent overnight gains amid geopolitical tensions.  
• Mining shares were firm overnight and remain a sector to watch in U.S. trading today.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Grand Canyon Education, Inc. and AeroVironment, Inc. established new 52-week highs shortly after the opening. (See Nasdaq:AVAV, Nasdaq:LOPE)  
• Multi-Fineline Electronix is up 23.5% to $15.17 after raising its Q1 sales outlook this morning. (See Nasdaq:MFLX)  
• Teradyne is up 10.3% to $5.15 after Barclays Capital this morning upgraded the company from "Equal Weight" to "Overweight." (See NYSE:TER)
• Eagle Bulk Shipping and DryShips Inc. are posting gains of 10.2% and 5.1%, respectively, in pre-market trading. (See Nasdaq:EGLE, Nasdaq:DRYS)

Small Cap Losers:

• CONMED Corp. and Digi International established new 52-week lows in early trading. (See Nasdaq:CNMD,Nasdaq:DGII)  
• GSI Commerce, Inc. is down 14.6% after a downgrade this morning by Stifel Nicolaus. (See Nasdaq:GSIC)  
• Helen of Troy Limited is down nearly 11% to $15.80 after a downgrade by JPMorgan. (See Nasdaq:HELE)  
• Varian Semiconductor Equipment is down 5.4% to $17.60 in pre-market trading after issuing revised rev and earnings estimates for Q1. (See Nasdaq:VSEA)

Consumer products companies face real challenges during times when consumer spending is soft, but Helen of Troy Limited (Nasdaq:HELE) and National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK) are weathering the current storm far better than most.

Helen of Troy Limited produces personal care products such as hair dryers, curling irons, shavers, hair accessories and skin care products under well-known brand names such as Vidal Sasson, Revlon, Sunbeam, Pro Touch and Salon Creations. The company added housewares to its product line in 2004 by acquiring OXO International, a manufacturer of kitchen tools and cutlery. HELE’s houseware sales grew nearly 20% last year and offset slower growth in the personal-care products segment. While only about a quarter of the size of its personal-care business, the housewares division contributed 43% of HELE’s 2008 operating income.

The company markets its products through mass merchandisers, drug chains, groceries and specialty stores. Product line extensions were a major driver of earnings growth last year, with FY 2008 per-share earnings improving 22% to $1.93 from $1.58. HELE introduced 526 new products in 2008 and has an additional 389 new products in its 2009 development pipeline.

The company surprised analysts in the first quarter of FY 2009 by reporting non-GAAP per-share earnings of $0.42, up 31% from last year’s first quarter and 40% above analyst estimates. This marked HELE’s third-consecutive quarter of positive earnings surprises. In addition to new products, the company expects to fuel future earnings growth with expense reductions and possibly an acquisition. Analysts target 10% annual long-term growth for HELE. These shares are reasonably priced compared with other consumer product companies at a 13 times P/E multiple and an 11 times forward P/E multiple. My $30 price target for Helen of Troy shares is 30% above . . .

Helen of Troy Limited (Nasdaq:HELE) CEO Gerald Rubin said the economic environment remains challenging for the personal-care products maker but that the El Paso, Texas-based firm is poised to effectively react to market changes. Rubin made the comments during a midday conference call.

“We are ready to take advantage of improvements in the retail environment,” Rubin said.

The company reported Tuesday morning that its first-quarter profit fell 45% to $5.6 million, or $0.18 per share, from $10.1 million, or $0.32 per share, a year earlier. Wall Street expected the firm to earn $0.30 per share.

Quarterly sales rose to $145 million from $140.2 million a year ago. Wall Street analysts, on average, projected $142.8 million.

“We are very pleased with our record sales for the first quarter,” Rubin said.

Strong sales in the house wares segment, which grew 15% compared with a year earlier, and international revenue, which jumped 9.1%, were a catalyst for . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) is trading in the red while the Dow is little changed.

At 11:33 a.m. ET, the small-cap index was up 2.76 points, or 0.40%, to 684.69. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) is up 24.50 points, or 0.20%, to 12,417.16.

Small-cap stocks opened with a rise following news that Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) saw a decline in fiscal first-quarter profit but still beat expectations. That’s good news for investors worried that the pain that from Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC) could spread to other investment banks.

Also helping the bulls is Visa Inc. (NYSE:V). Shares of the world’s largest credit card company debuted today with a rise of over 30%.

In economic news, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced before the start of trading that its index of loan application volume fell 2.9% for the week ended March 14. Also, the index of refinancing applications tumbled 4.6%.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices posted losses today following mixed housing news and more mortgage concerns. The small-cap index fell 19.09 points, or 2.64%, to 704.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) lost 238.42 points, or 1.86%, to 12,589.07.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 7.99%, while the Dow is down 5.09% and the S&P 500 has shrunk 5.32%.

Small-cap stocks opened in positive territory and then gained more following news of an announcement at 10 a.m. ET that pending U.S. home sales fell 2.6% in November to a reading of 87.6.

The decline is more than what economists were expecting, but investors apparently liked the fact that the figures for October and September were revised higher.

Additionally, the National Association of Realtors reported that it expects existing-home sales to hold steady during the following months before rising later in the year and improving in 2009.

“On the one hand, we have a pent-up demand from the four million jobs added to our economy over the past two years of sales decline,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, in a statement. “On the other, consumers continue to wait for additional signs of market stabilization.”

Helen of Troy Ltd. (Nasdaq: HELE) CEO Gerald Rubin said the developer and marketer of personal care and household consumer products is battling an “extremely challenging” retail environment. Even after receiving a favorable settlement that added $0.24 earnings per share to the second-quarter results, Rubin said the company is lowering guidance. The chief executive made the comments during a midday conference call.

Disappointing consumer spending trends caused the company to lower its fiscal 2008 revenue guidance, Rubin said. The company now expects revenue in the range of $660 million to $680 million, from a previous range of $680 million to $690 million. Earnings are expected to be in the range of $1.90 to $2.10 per share, from previous guidance of at least $2 per share. Fiscal 2007 earnings were $1.58 per share.

“We believe that our company's business fundamentals remain strong,” Rubin said. “Going forward we plan to continue to execute our business plan by introducing new product offerings, increasing market share through channel expansion and product innovation, and continuing our efforts of increasing process efficiencies and reducing related expenses.”

High gas prices, tight credit markets and the subprime crisis were cited as reasons for the lowered guidance. The company has price increases presently in place to combat these negative factors, Rubin said.

At the end of the fiscal year in late February, Rubin said the company expects to have $100 million in cash and will “strongly” consider a share repurchase program.

In response to an analyst’s question, the chief executive said a management buyout is also “on the table.”