StockNews.com Downgrades Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

HLF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $9.50 target price on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Herbalife currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $10.50.

Herbalife Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of HLF stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.89. 1,309,183 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,015,269. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 1.24. Herbalife has a fifty-two week low of $6.68 and a fifty-two week high of $19.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.34.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.12. Herbalife had a net margin of 2.70% and a negative return on equity of 19.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Herbalife’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.65 per share, for a total transaction of $74,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 93,279 shares in the company, valued at $993,421.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Herbalife news, Director Donal L. Mulligan acquired 30,000 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $289,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 7,000 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.65 per share, with a total value of $74,550.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 93,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $993,421.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 66,532 shares of company stock worth $643,642. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Windacre Partnership LLC grew its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 9,203,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,495,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Herbalife by 3,832.5% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,157,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127,880 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Herbalife by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Herbalife by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 82,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 3,647 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Herbalife by 140.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 7,030 shares in the last quarter.

Herbalife Company Profile

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.