Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.6667.

A number of research firms have issued reports on HLF. UBS Group set a $21.00 price target on shares of Herbalife in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings lowered Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Texas Capital upgraded Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Herbalife Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE HLF opened at $11.93 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.34. Herbalife has a 12 month low of $7.56 and a 12 month high of $20.40. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.85.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Herbalife’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Herbalife will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herbalife announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 19.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Herbalife by 12.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the period. Optimize Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Herbalife by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 61,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Herbalife by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 2.5% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 96,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Herbalife by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 82,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after buying an additional 2,746 shares in the last quarter.

About Herbalife

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.