Earnings Preview for Helen of Troy (HELE)

Helen of Troy HELE is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter 2011 results before the market opens tomorrow, May 10. Analysts are looking for the consumer goods company to announce that per-share earnings rose 14.3% from a year ago to $0.63. That consensus estimate is three cents higher than 60 days ago. But analysts expect a bigger jump in revenues. The forecast calls for $235.1 million for the quarter, an increase of 54.5% from a year ago. Founded in 1968, Helen of Troy operates through two segments: Personal Care and Housewares. The former sells licensed personal care products and accessories under brand names such as Vidal Sassoon and Revlon. The Housewares segment provides kitchen tools, bar and wine accessories, household cleaning tools, food storage containers, organization products, gardening tools, rechargeable lighting and other products. The company offers its goods through mass merchandisers, drugstore chains, warehouse clubs, catalogs, grocery stores and beauty supply retailers and wholesalers. For the full year, analysts are looking for earnings growth of 18.3% year-over-year to $2.84 per share on revenues up 19.7% to $775.1 million. Note that analysts have underestimated earnings in the past eight quarters. Shares have been trading mostly between $26 and $31 since December, but the share price is currently above the 200-day and 50-day moving averages. The stock has underperformed the broader market year-to-date though.