Insider Buying: Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) Major Shareholder Buys $647,475.84 in Stock

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATR) major shareholder Prescott Group Capital Managem acquired 40,876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.84 per share, for a total transaction of $647,475.84. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,924,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,483,858.24. The trade was a 2.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Prescott Group Capital Managem also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 7th, Prescott Group Capital Managem purchased 96,000 shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.63 per share, for a total transaction of $1,596,480.00.
• On Thursday, August 6th, Prescott Group Capital Managem acquired 4,513 shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,780.41.

Nature’s Sunshine Products Stock Performance

NASDAQ NATR traded down $0.61 during trading on Monday, hitting $15.77. The stock had a trading volume of 426,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,474. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.88. Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. has a one year low of $12.97 and a one year high of $28.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.44.

Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.06). Nature’s Sunshine Products had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $116.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.70 million.

Institutional Trading of Nature’s Sunshine Products

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NATR. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,561,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Nature’s Sunshine Products during the 4th quarter worth $4,544,000. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC bought a new stake in Nature’s Sunshine Products during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,923,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Nature’s Sunshine Products by 268.9% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 171,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,123,000 after purchasing an additional 125,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 803,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,464,000 after buying an additional 106,688 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on NATR shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nature’s Sunshine Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Nature’s Sunshine Products from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Nature’s Sunshine Products Company Profile

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc is a global manufacturer and direct seller of nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, and personal care products. The company’s core business centers on research, development and distribution of vitamins, minerals, botanicals and essential oil-based formulations designed to support overall health and wellness. Operating under a network-marketing model, Nature’s Sunshine works through a network of independent distributors who promote and sell its product line directly to consumers.

The company’s product portfolio spans dietary supplements such as single-ingredient vitamins, proprietary herbal blends, sports nutrition formulas and weight-management solutions, along with skin and hair care items based on botanical extracts and essential oils.