Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Upgraded at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $14.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $7.50.

Herbalife Price Performance

Shares of HLF opened at $8.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $852.89 million, a PE ratio of 3.38, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $6.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.22. Herbalife has a 1 year low of $5.04 and a 1 year high of $12.79.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 20.78% and a net margin of 5.09%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 5,000 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.25 per share, for a total transaction of $41,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 132,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,125. This trade represents a 3.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Herbalife by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,271,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,406,000 after buying an additional 785,574 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Herbalife by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 7,088,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,425,000 after buying an additional 638,567 shares in the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Herbalife by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,758,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,127 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 777.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,987,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,696,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,040,000 after purchasing an additional 216,603 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.