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Helen of Troy (HELE) Rewards Shareholders, Unveils New Buybacks

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Helen of Troy Limited (HELE - Free Report) is committed toward boosting shareholders’ wealth through share-repurchase activities. Keeping along this line, the company approved repurchase of its outstanding common shares, worth $500 million. The move is in sync with Helen of Troy’s intentions to return capital not otherwise deployed toward strategic buyouts or core business growth to shareholders.

The newly-authorized three-year long share repurchase program came into effect on Aug 25, 2021. The program replaced Helen of Troy’s existing buyback plan.  As of Aug 25, the company had stocks worth nearly $79.5 million remaining under its existing program. Certainly, its balanced capital allocation strategy has been helping Helen of Troy to create long-term value creation for its shareholders.

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What Else Should You Know?

Helen of Troy is on track to continue investing in key growth areas as part of the Phase II Transformation efforts. To stay focused on the plan, the company recently finalized a land purchase in Gallaway, TN to construct a state-of-the-art distribution center. Broadening the company’s international business is also an integral part of its Phase II transformation plan. Management made several investments in the second half of fiscal 2021 to support its distribution in the Continental Europe and U.K. businesses among others, to boost growth in the international markets.

The Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company is also focused on making solid investments in its Leadership Brands, which is a portfolio of market leading brands. Brands in this portfolio are positioned well to enhance market share. These brands account for a significant chunk of the company’s sales, which generate solid margins and volumes. As part of its strategy to focus on Leadership Brands, the company divested the mass market Personal Care business (excluding the Latin America and Caribbean regions) to HRB Brands LLC on Jun 8, 2021.

Apart from these, Helen of Troy has been benefiting from its consistent online sales and digital marketing efforts. Although online sales growth moderated in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, it rose nearly 4% year over year and contributed nearly 22% to the company’s top line. Management is on track to make continued investments in this arena to keep pace with the evolving consumer environment. In fact, the company has been consistently augmenting its digital presence through sophisticated marketing plans and improved content.

The stock has increased 17.3% in the past year compared with the industry’s 45.7% growth.

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