Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, DA Davidson raised shares of Herbalife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $7.50 to $14.00 in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Herbalife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.20.

Herbalife Trading Up 5.3 %

HLF traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.42. 3,714,181 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,196,684. Herbalife has a 12-month low of $5.04 and a 12-month high of $12.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $6.97 and a 200 day moving average of $7.22. The firm has a market cap of $852.89 million, a P/E ratio of 3.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.03.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.28. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 20.78%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Herbalife will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.25 per share, for a total transaction of $41,250.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 132,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,125. The trade was a 3.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Herbalife by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 44,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 57,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,516 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 198,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 3.6% in the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 92,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 59,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 3,458 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.