Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.80.

HLF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $17.00 target price on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Herbalife from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price (up from $17.00) on shares of Herbalife in a report on Thursday, February 19th.

Herbalife Stock Down 2.5%

HLF stock opened at $12.12 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.32, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.98. Herbalife has a fifty-two week low of $6.84 and a fifty-two week high of $20.40.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 4.67% and a negative return on equity of 41.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Herbalife

In other news, COO Troy Hicks sold 38,377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.93, for a total transaction of $496,214.61. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,171.66. This trade represents a 80.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Frank Lamberti sold 134,982 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total transaction of $1,822,257.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,624 shares in the company, valued at $494,424. The trade was a 78.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,296 shares of company stock worth $2,551,678. 5.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Herbalife in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the third quarter worth about $35,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Herbalife during the third quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 49,105.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 9,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 9,330 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Company Profile

Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) operates as a global multi-level marketing company specializing in weight-management, nutritional supplement, sports nutrition and personal care products. Its portfolio includes protein shakes, vitamins, energy and fitness supplements, hydration products and skin and hair care items, all formulated to support wellness, performance and healthy living. Products are manufactured in GMP-certified facilities to ensure consistent quality and safety standards.

Founded in 1980 by Mark R.