Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

HLF has been the topic of a number of other reports. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.50 price objective on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Herbalife from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.70.

Herbalife Stock Performance

NYSE:HLF opened at $11.46 on Wednesday. Herbalife has a fifty-two week low of $6.68 and a fifty-two week high of $19.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 1.23.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Herbalife will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Henry C. Wang bought 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.30 per share, with a total value of $25,835.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 176,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,604.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.65 per share, with a total value of $74,550.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Henry C. Wang bought 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.30 per share, with a total value of $25,835.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 176,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,604.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 61,357 shares of company stock valued at $595,463. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Herbalife by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 217,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,042,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Herbalife by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,742,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,378,000 after purchasing an additional 147,003 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Herbalife by 6,949,960.0% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 347,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,862,000 after purchasing an additional 347,498 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Herbalife by 265.9% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 366,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,124,000 after buying an additional 266,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PEAK6 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Herbalife during the 3rd quarter valued at $146,000.

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.