Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $21.00 price target on Herbalife in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Texas Capital raised shares of Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Herbalife Price Performance

Herbalife stock opened at $13.40 on Friday. Herbalife has a one year low of $7.56 and a one year high of $20.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.99. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.78.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Herbalife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 8th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 19.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLF. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 428,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,633,000 after buying an additional 121,026 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Herbalife in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,372,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Herbalife in the second quarter valued at $5,842,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Herbalife by 154.1% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 202,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 122,788 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP grew its position in Herbalife by 697.8% in the second 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 period.

Herbalife Company Profile

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) is a global nutrition and wellness company that develops and distributes products through a network of independent members and distributors. Its offerings include meal-replacement shakes, protein and other dietary supplements, vitamins, sports nutrition products, and personal-care items.

Founded in 1980 by Mark Hughes, Herbalife sells its products through direct-selling channels rather than primarily through traditional retail stores. Independent distributors market the products, provide product guidance, and may operate nutrition clubs or similar community-based businesses.

The company serves customers across numerous markets in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other regions.