Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Stock Moved Down to Hold by Wall Street Zen

by · The Cerbat Gem

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

HLF has been the topic of several other research reports. Texas Capital raised Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. UBS Group set a $21.00 price target on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Herbalife from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on HLF

Herbalife Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of HLF stock opened at $13.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.71 and its 200 day moving average is $14.01. Herbalife has a 12-month low of $7.56 and a 12-month high of $20.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.74.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.03). Herbalife had a net margin of 3.16% and a negative return on equity of 43.90%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Herbalife will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Herbalife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, September 8th that allows the company to repurchase $250 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 19.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Herbalife by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,596,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,225,000 after purchasing an additional 267,539 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Herbalife by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,638,000 after buying an additional 425,968 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the 1st quarter worth $9,491,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,842,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 428,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,633,000 after buying an additional 121,026 shares during the last quarter.

About Herbalife

(Get Free Report)

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) is a global nutrition and wellness company that develops and distributes products through a network of independent members and distributors. Its offerings include meal-replacement shakes, protein and other dietary supplements, vitamins, sports nutrition products, and personal-care items.

Founded in 1980 by Mark Hughes, Herbalife sells its products through direct-selling channels rather than primarily through traditional retail stores. Independent distributors market the products, provide product guidance, and may operate nutrition clubs or similar community-based businesses.

The company serves customers across numerous markets in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other regions.

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