Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Herbalife from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $9.50 price target on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Herbalife presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.70.

Herbalife Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:HLF traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,173,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,215,335. Herbalife has a 12-month low of $6.68 and a 12-month high of $19.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $10.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 1.25.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.12. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 2.70%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Herbalife’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Herbalife will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Herbalife

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.67 per share, for a total transaction of $29,010.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 73,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $708,607.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.67 per share, for a total transaction of $29,010.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 73,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $708,607.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Donal L. Mulligan acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.65 per share, with a total value of $289,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 60,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 42,500 shares of company stock worth $418,485. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 523.6% in the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 177,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,705,000 after purchasing an additional 148,851 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,624,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,788,000 after purchasing an additional 116,030 shares in the last quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 1,468,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,411,000 after purchasing an additional 483,635 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new position in Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,799,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in Herbalife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,013,000.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Ltd. provides health and wellness products in North America, Mexico, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and the Asia Pacific. It offers products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; outer nutrition; and literature and promotional items.