Haleon (NYSE:HLN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $10.16, but opened at $10.55. Haleon shares last traded at $10.51, with a volume of 1,086,357 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on HLN. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Haleon in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Haleon from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Haleon from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Haleon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.95.

Haleon Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Haleon (NYSE:HLN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. Haleon had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 14.76%. Research analysts expect that Haleon plc will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Haleon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.1166 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Haleon’s previous — dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Haleon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Haleon

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Haleon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Haleon by 2,029.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 3,348 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Haleon in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Haleon by 3,470.0% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 3,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Haleon in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.67% of the company’s stock.

Haleon Company Profile

Haleon plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of various consumer healthcare products in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides oral health products, such as toothpastes, mouth washes, and denture care products under the Sensodyne, Polident, Parodontax, Biotene brands; and vitamins, minerals, and supplements under Centrum, Emergen-C, Caltrate brands.