** Shares of home and beauty products maker Helen of Troy HELE.O down 25.4% at $23.12 on Thurs after qtrly results, forecast miss expectations

** HELE shares plunge as much as 31.6% to $21.20, lowest since Dec 2009. Stock on course for biggest pct drop since Jul 9 last year, when it cratered 27.7% after qtrly report

** Co posts fiscal Q1 rev and adj EPS below Street estimates, saying tariff-related impacts accounted for about 8 percentage points of 10.8% rev decline

** It sees Q2 rev of $408-$432 mln and adj EPS of 45-60 cents, while analysts had modeled for rev of $475 mln and adj EPS of $1.14, per LSEG

** "The Board's process to identify our next CEO is well underway with the support of a leading global executive search firm and we are encouraged by the progress thus far," board chairman Timothy Meeker said in the statement

** As the search continues, "we have confidence in our interim CEO Brian Grass" and "his commitment to improving our Company's performance," Meeker said

** In early May, co announced departure of Noel Geoffroy as CEO, and appointed CFO Grass to the top job among leadership changes

** 2 of 5 analysts covering HELE rate stock "buy", rest rate "hold"; median PT of $47 down from $53 a month ago and from $92 on Apr 10

** With move on Thurs, shares down 61% YTD vs 15% decline in S&P 600 Consumer Durables & Apparel index .SPSMCLP

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))