DA Davidson Reiterates Neutral Rating for Herbalife (NYSE:HLF)

DA Davidson reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. DA Davidson currently has a $9.50 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on HLF. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Herbalife from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Herbalife from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $10.50.

Herbalife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLF traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $9.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,175,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,315,448. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $957.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.24. Herbalife has a fifty-two week low of $6.68 and a fifty-two week high of $19.48.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 2.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herbalife

In other Herbalife news, EVP Henry C. Wang acquired 2,778 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.30 per share, with a total value of $25,835.40. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 176,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,604.20. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Herbalife news, EVP Henry C. Wang bought 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.30 per share, with a total value of $25,835.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,604.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Johnson purchased 61,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.07 per share, with a total value of $498,120.75. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 603,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,871,915.49. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 85,757 shares of company stock valued at $723,278 in the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,561,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,759,000 after acquiring an additional 43,452 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,989,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,808,000 after purchasing an additional 209,949 shares during the last quarter. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. boosted its position in Herbalife by 3.5% in the third quarter. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. now owns 3,121,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,669,000 after buying an additional 104,567 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Herbalife by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,888,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,814,000 after buying an additional 145,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,624,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,788,000 after buying an additional 116,030 shares in the last quarter.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Ltd. provides health and wellness products in North America, Mexico, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and the Asia Pacific. It offers products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; outer nutrition; and literature and promotional items.