Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

by · The Cerbat Gem

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

HLF has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Herbalife in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded shares of Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.67.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Herbalife

Herbalife Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of HLF opened at $12.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.85. Herbalife has a 12 month low of $7.56 and a 12 month high of $20.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.17.

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

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

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HLF. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Herbalife by 11.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Herbalife by 29.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Herbalife by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 768,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,900,000 after buying an additional 347,401 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Herbalife in the first quarter worth about $9,491,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Herbalife in the second quarter worth about $5,842,000.

About Herbalife

(Get Free Report)

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.

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