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

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.90.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. B. Riley reduced their price target on Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of Herbalife in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho raised 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Herbalife during the fourth quarter worth about $960,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 341.0% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 149,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 115,578 shares during the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the fourth quarter worth about $720,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 204,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 35,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 1,583.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 173,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 163,100 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Trading Up 43.4 %

HLF traded up $2.44 on Thursday, hitting $8.06. 23,878,349 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,760,751. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.23. The company has a market cap of $812.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.15. Herbalife has a twelve month low of $5.04 and a twelve month high of $12.79.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 1.73%.

About Herbalife

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.