Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.80.

Several analysts have recently commented on HLF shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Herbalife from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Herbalife from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Mizuho set a $17.00 target price on Herbalife in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Herbalife from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th.

Herbalife Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:HLF opened at $12.41 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.87. Herbalife has a 52 week low of $7.56 and a 52 week high of $20.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.25 and a 200 day moving average of $14.64.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 41.47% and a net margin of 4.67%.The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Herbalife will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Herbalife news, insider Frank Lamberti sold 134,982 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total transaction of $1,822,257.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 36,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $494,424. The trade was a 78.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Troy Hicks sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.32, for a total transaction of $123,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,706 shares in the company, valued at $119,577.92. The trade was a 50.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 191,296 shares of company stock worth $2,551,678. 5.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Herbalife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,491,000. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC raised its holdings in Herbalife by 122.2% in the third quarter. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC now owns 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,440,000 after acquiring an additional 550,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,638,000 after purchasing an additional 425,968 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 1,156.1% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC now owns 414,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,343,000 after buying an additional 381,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Herbalife by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 768,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,900,000 after purchasing an additional 347,401 shares in the last quarter.

Herbalife Company Profile

Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) operates as a global multi-level marketing company specializing in weight-management, nutritional supplement, sports nutrition and personal care products. Its portfolio includes protein shakes, vitamins, energy and fitness supplements, hydration products and skin and hair care items, all formulated to support wellness, performance and healthy living. Products are manufactured in GMP-certified facilities to ensure consistent quality and safety standards.

Founded in 1980 by Mark R.