Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.50.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HLF shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho cut their target price on Herbalife from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. DA Davidson cut their target price on Herbalife from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herbalife

In related news, CEO Michael Johnson acquired 61,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.07 per share, for a total transaction of $498,120.75. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 603,707 shares in the company, valued at $4,871,915.49. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Herbalife news, Director Rodica Macadrai bought 5,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.31 per share, with a total value of $48,179.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,385.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Johnson bought 61,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.07 per share, with a total value of $498,120.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 603,707 shares in the company, valued at $4,871,915.49. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 85,757 shares of company stock worth $723,278. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PEAK6 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the 3rd quarter worth about $146,000. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth about $165,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth about $184,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth about $258,000. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Herbalife by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 17,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Stock Performance

Shares of HLF opened at $8.89 on Thursday. Herbalife has a 52-week low of $6.68 and a 52-week high of $19.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $8.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.68. The firm has a market cap of $886.63 million, a PE ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 1.22.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.10). Herbalife had a net margin of 2.81% and a negative return on equity of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Herbalife’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Herbalife will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.