Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $21.00 price target on shares of Herbalife in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Two equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Herbalife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.67.

Herbalife Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Herbalife stock opened at $12.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.78. Herbalife has a 1-year low of $7.56 and a 1-year high of $20.40.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 3.16% and a negative return on equity of 43.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Herbalife will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Herbalife announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, September 8th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 19.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Miramontes Capital LLC bought a new stake in Herbalife in the second quarter valued at $179,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the 2nd quarter valued at $140,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 154.1% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 202,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 122,788 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 428,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,633,000 after purchasing an additional 121,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP increased 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 worth $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 156,672 shares in the last quarter.

Herbalife Company Profile

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.