Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) Stock Has Average Target Price of $17.67 According to Brokerages

Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.67.

HLF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th. Weiss Ratings cut 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 research note on Thursday, September 17th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th.

Herbalife Price Performance

Herbalife stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $14.60. 1,237,966 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,459,056. Herbalife has a 1 year low of $7.56 and a 1 year high of $20.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.02.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Herbalife will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Herbalife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 8th that authorizes the company to buy back $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 19.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Herbalife during the first quarter worth approximately $9,491,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,842,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,638,000 after acquiring an additional 425,968 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $38,225,000 after acquiring an additional 267,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 697.8% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 179,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,355,000 after acquiring an additional 156,672 shares during 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, sports performance, energy, and general well-being.

The company’s product portfolio includes meal-replacement shakes, protein products, dietary supplements, vitamins, teas, hydration products, sports nutrition products, and personal-care items. Herbalife distributes its products in more than 90 countries through direct selling, including person-to-person sales, nutrition clubs, and online channels operated by its independent distributors.

Herbalife was founded in 1980 by Mark Hughes and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.