Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

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

HLF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho cut their target price on Herbalife from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America cut their price objective on Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Herbalife from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herbalife

In other news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 16,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.40 per share, with a total value of $151,142.60. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 54,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,446.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Michael Johnson bought 61,725 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.07 per share, with a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 16,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.40 per share, with a total value of $151,142.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,446.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 85,757 shares of company stock valued at $723,278. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PEAK6 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Herbalife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $146,000. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Herbalife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in Herbalife by 21.3% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,000. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Herbalife by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 17,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Price Performance

NYSE:HLF opened at $8.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $866.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.63. Herbalife has a 1-year low of $6.68 and a 1-year high of $19.48.

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

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.