Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on HLF. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Herbalife from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Herbalife from $9.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Herbalife currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $12.33.

Herbalife Price Performance

Herbalife stock opened at $7.07 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $9.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.71. The firm has a market cap of $706.27 million, a PE ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 1.20. Herbalife has a one year low of $6.68 and a one year high of $15.71.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.11. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 18.69% and a net margin of 1.63%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. Herbalife’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Herbalife will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Herbalife news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 10,000 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.11 per share, with a total value of $71,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 120,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,200. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,888,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,814,000 after acquiring an additional 145,684 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the 4th quarter valued at $258,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,523,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,247,000 after buying an additional 142,829 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Herbalife by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 68,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 15,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 148,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after buying an additional 55,649 shares during the period.

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.