BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Stock Holdings in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) by 52.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,913 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,296 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Herbalife were worth $488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the second quarter valued at $490,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 2.6% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 58,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 410,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,268,000 after purchasing an additional 31,137 shares during the last quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT boosted its position in shares of Herbalife by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 1,550,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,109,000 after purchasing an additional 246,616 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Herbalife by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Stock Performance

HLF stock opened at $7.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $753.41 million, a PE ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.63 and a 200-day moving average of $8.93. Herbalife Ltd. has a one year low of $6.59 and a one year high of $15.66.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.38. Herbalife had a net margin of 1.73% and a negative return on equity of 18.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Herbalife from $13.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Herbalife has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.90.

Herbalife 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.