The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on HNST. Morgan Stanley set a $3.00 price target on shares of Honest in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Honest in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Honest from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Honest from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Honest Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HNST opened at $2.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $323.91 million, a PE ratio of -20.57 and a beta of 2.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.54 and a 200 day moving average of $2.92. 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 data 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 negative net margin of 4.22% and a positive return on equity of 4.57%. The company had revenue of $88.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.57 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Honest will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Honest declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Honest

In other Honest news, SVP Kunssberg Etienne Von sold 12,179 shares of Honest stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $34,710.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 308,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $879,823.50. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 129,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $368,604.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,065,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 191,894 shares of company stock worth $546,898 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Honest

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HNST. Portolan Capital Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 710,651 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Honest by 10.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,068,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,532,000 after purchasing an additional 196,218 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Honest by 19.5% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 76,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 12,517 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its holdings in shares of Honest by 36.3% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 21,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 5,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Honest by 122.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 20,059 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

About Honest

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.