Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on NATR. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Nature’s Sunshine Products to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.50.

Nature’s Sunshine Products Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products stock opened at $15.77 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.44. Nature’s Sunshine Products has a 12-month low of $12.97 and a 12-month high of $28.14. The company has a market capitalization of $277.55 million, a P/E ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nature’s Sunshine Products

In related news, major shareholder Prescott Group Capital Managem acquired 40,876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.84 per share, with a total value of $647,475.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,924,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,483,858.24. The trade was a 2.17% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryant J. Yates sold 11,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total transaction of $238,163.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,541,175.40. The trade was a 13.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have bought 141,389 shares of company stock valued at $2,318,736 and have sold 35,696 shares valued at $742,407. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nature’s Sunshine Products

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NATR. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Nature’s Sunshine Products in the second quarter worth $21,561,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 913,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,181,000 after buying an additional 20,037 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 803,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,464,000 after buying an additional 106,688 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 675,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,488,000 after acquiring an additional 86,128 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 531,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,761,000 after acquiring an additional 7,827 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.40% of the company’s stock.

About Nature’s Sunshine Products

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.