Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Separately, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Herbalife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $7.50 to $14.00 in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Herbalife Stock Performance

Shares of HLF stock opened at $8.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $852.89 million, a P/E ratio of 3.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $6.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.22. Herbalife has a 52 week low of $5.04 and a 52 week high of $12.79.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 20.78%. Analysts forecast that Herbalife will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.25 per share, with a total value of $41,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 132,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,125. This represents a 3.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in shares of Herbalife by 107.1% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 966,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,463,000 after buying an additional 499,572 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Herbalife during the fourth quarter worth $221,000. US Bancorp DE bought a new position in Herbalife during the fourth quarter worth $322,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Herbalife by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 610,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,087,000 after purchasing an additional 60,158 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Herbalife by 347.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 125,311 shares during the period.

Herbalife Company Profile

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.