Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on HNST. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Honest from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $3.00 price target on shares of Honest in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Honest presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.00.

Honest Price Performance

Shares of HNST stock opened at $2.88 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $323.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.57 and a beta of 2.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $2.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.93. Honest has a one year low of $2.07 and a one year high of $5.55.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.23). Honest had a negative net margin of 4.22% and a positive return on equity of 4.57%. The business had revenue of $88.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.57 million. Equities research analysts expect that Honest will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Honest announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Honest

In related news, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 22,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $64,284.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 725,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,165.20. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 129,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $368,604.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,065,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,586,806.10. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,894 shares of company stock worth $546,898. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Honest

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Portolan Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Honest by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 6,928,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,495,000 after acquiring an additional 710,651 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Honest by 10.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,068,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,532,000 after acquiring an additional 196,218 shares in the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Honest in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Honest in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Honest by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 25,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 4,873 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.