Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $6.81, but opened at $7.29. Herbalife shares last traded at $7.66, with a volume of 970,154 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 18.69% and a net margin of 1.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $13.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, B. Riley lowered their target price on Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Herbalife presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.75.

Insider Transactions at Herbalife

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.11 per share, with a total value of $71,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 120,000 shares in the company, valued at $853,200. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Herbalife by 13.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 57,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 6,607 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Herbalife by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 100,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 19,862 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Herbalife in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,397,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in Herbalife by 21.3% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Herbalife by 2.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 278,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,803,000 after buying an additional 7,635 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $758.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $7.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.30.

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.