Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on HLF. DA Davidson reissued a neutral rating and set a $9.50 target price on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Herbalife from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $10.70.

Herbalife Stock Performance

HLF stock opened at $11.37 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.76. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 1.25. Herbalife has a 52-week low of $6.68 and a 52-week high of $19.48.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.12. Herbalife had a net margin of 2.70% and a negative return on equity of 19.97%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Herbalife’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Herbalife will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herbalife

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.67 per share, with a total value of $29,010.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 73,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $708,607.93. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Herbalife news, Director Donal L. Mulligan acquired 30,000 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $289,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 60,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $579,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 3,000 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.67 per share, with a total value of $29,010.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 73,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $708,607.93. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 42,500 shares of company stock valued at $418,485. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLF. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 465.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 2,908 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Herbalife by 22.9% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Herbalife during the first quarter worth about $105,000. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Herbalife by 68.0% during the first quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Herbalife by 140.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,030 shares during the last quarter.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Ltd. provides health and wellness products in North America, Mexico, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and the Asia Pacific. It offers products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; outer nutrition; and literature and promotional items.