Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on HLF. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $21.00 price target on Herbalife in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Herbalife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLF opened at $11.93 on Friday. Herbalife has a fifty-two week low of $7.56 and a fifty-two week high of $20.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.34.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.16%.Herbalife’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Herbalife will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herbalife declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, September 8th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 19.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Herbalife in the 1st quarter valued at $9,491,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Herbalife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,842,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 29.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,638,000 after acquiring an additional 425,968 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Herbalife by 1,156.1% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC now owns 414,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,343,000 after acquiring an additional 381,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its position in Herbalife by 82.6% during the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 768,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,900,000 after purchasing an additional 347,401 shares during the last quarter.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) is a global nutrition and wellness company that develops and sells products through a network of independent distributors. Its offerings are designed to support weight management, balanced nutrition, energy, sports performance and personal care.

The company’s product portfolio includes meal-replacement shakes, protein and fiber products, dietary supplements, vitamins, herbal teas, sports nutrition products and skin- and body-care items. Herbalife distributes its products in markets around the world, including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa, primarily through direct selling and independent members who provide product information and personalized support to consumers.

Herbalife was founded in 1980 by Mark Hughes and has since expanded from a primarily weight-management business into a broader nutrition and wellness enterprise.