Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

HLF has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup reaffirmed 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 report on Friday, July 24th. Texas Capital upgraded Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $21.00 price target on shares of Herbalife in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Herbalife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Herbalife Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Herbalife stock opened at $12.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.85. Herbalife has a twelve month low of $7.56 and a twelve month high of $20.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.22.

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

Herbalife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 8th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 19.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Herbalife in the second quarter worth about $1,372,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 428,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,633,000 after purchasing an additional 121,026 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,842,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Herbalife by 291.2% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 141,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 105,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Herbalife during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,809,000.

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.