Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Stock Price Up 5% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) shot up 5% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $13.61 and last traded at $13.6870. Approximately 925,609 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 1,559,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HLF shares. UBS Group set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Texas Capital raised Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Herbalife Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.03.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Herbalife Ltd will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the 1st quarter valued at $9,491,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Herbalife during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,842,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,638,000 after buying an additional 425,968 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Herbalife by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 768,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,900,000 after acquiring an additional 347,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 11.5% in 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.

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.