USANA Health Sciences (NYSE:USNA) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NYSE:USNA)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $31.96, but opened at $35.67. USANA Health Sciences shares last traded at $32.93, with a volume of 84,067 shares traded.

The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.15. USANA Health Sciences had a return on equity of 10.64% and a net margin of 6.30%. The business had revenue of $213.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.82 million.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on USNA. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of USANA Health Sciences from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Sidoti lowered USANA Health Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded USANA Health Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On USANA Health Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of USNA. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in USANA Health Sciences by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,087,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,015,000 after acquiring an additional 37,466 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 773,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,751,000 after purchasing an additional 55,059 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 592,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,247,000 after purchasing an additional 47,745 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 435,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,501,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in USANA Health Sciences by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 301,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,839,000 after buying an additional 4,829 shares in the last quarter. 54.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

USANA Health Sciences Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.64. The company has a market cap of $627.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87.

About USANA Health Sciences

USANA Health Sciences, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells science-based nutritional, personal care, and skincare products in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe. The company offers USANA nutritional products that comprise essentials/CellSentials, such as vitamin and mineral supplements that provide a foundation of total body nutrition for various age groups; optimizers consisting of targeted supplements that are designed to meet cardiovascular, skeletal/structural, and digestive health needs; and food that include meal replacement shakes, snack bars, and other related products.