Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates “Market Perform” Rating for Honest (NASDAQ:HNST)

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reiterated by research analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $3.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 29.87% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on HNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Honest in a report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Honest from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Honest from $4.25 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Lake Street Capital downgraded Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $3.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.00.

Honest Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:HNST opened at $2.31 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $258.23 million, a PE ratio of 38.50 and a beta of 2.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.10. Honest has a fifty-two week low of $2.07 and a fifty-two week high of $5.87.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.23). Honest had a return on equity of 3.86% and a net margin of 1.85%.The company had revenue of $88.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.57 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Honest will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Honest declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HNST. Mak Capital One LLC purchased a new position in Honest in the 4th quarter worth about $9,104,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Honest by 796.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,006,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,177,000 after buying an additional 1,782,742 shares in the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Honest by 11.4% in the third quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 6,928,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,495,000 after buying an additional 710,651 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Honest by 70.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,520,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,922,000 after acquiring an additional 627,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Honest by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,014,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,619,000 after acquiring an additional 442,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Honest Company Profile

The Honest Company, Inc (NASDAQ: HNST) is an American consumer goods firm specializing in eco-friendly and responsibly formulated products for babies, personal care, beauty and home cleaning. The company emphasizes transparency in ingredient sourcing and product safety, positioning itself in the premium segment of mass-market retail and direct-to-consumer channels.

Honest was founded in 2011 by actress Jessica Alba and environmental health advocate Christopher Gavigan with a mission to offer parents household and baby care items free from harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances.