Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Down 4.3% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) were down 4.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $7.84 and last traded at $7.84. Approximately 285,230 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,190,257 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson raised shares of Herbalife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $7.50 to $14.00 in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.20.

Herbalife Stock Up 4.3 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.22. The company has a market capitalization of $844.68 million, a PE ratio of 3.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.03.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 20.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 5,000 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.25 per share, for a total transaction of $41,250.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 132,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,125. The trade was a 3.92 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 641.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,714 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 110.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 5,524 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Herbalife by 12,307.6% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 11,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 11,323 shares in the last quarter.

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.