104,350 Shares in Herbalife Ltd $HLF Acquired by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 104,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.10% of Herbalife as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLF. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,596,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,225,000 after buying an additional 267,539 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,577,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,231,000 after buying an additional 25,783 shares in the last quarter. Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd grew its position in shares of Herbalife by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd now owns 2,249,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,998,000 after buying an additional 111,700 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Herbalife by 29.3% in 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. Finally, Solel Partners LP grew its position in shares of Herbalife by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Solel Partners LP now owns 1,669,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,390,000 after buying an additional 262,614 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of HLF opened at $12.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.69. Herbalife Ltd has a 12-month low of $7.56 and a 12-month high of $20.40.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 3.16% and a negative return on equity of 43.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Herbalife Ltd will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herbalife declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, September 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 19.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HLF. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Herbalife presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.00.

Herbalife Profile

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) is a global nutrition and wellness company that develops and sells products through a network of independent distributors. Its offerings are designed to support weight management, balanced nutrition, energy, sports performance and personal care.

The company’s product portfolio includes meal-replacement shakes, protein and fiber products, dietary supplements, vitamins, herbal teas, sports nutrition products and skin- and body-care items. Herbalife distributes its products in markets around the world, including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa, primarily through direct selling and independent members who provide product information and personalized support to consumers.

Herbalife was founded in 1980 by Mark Hughes and has since expanded from a primarily weight-management business into a broader nutrition and wellness enterprise.