Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Trading Up 2.8%

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) shares rose 2.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $8.33 and last traded at $8.33. Approximately 355,709 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,244,504 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Herbalife from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Herbalife from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Herbalife presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.50.

Herbalife Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.01. The company has a market cap of $825.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.22.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.10). Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 2.81%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Herbalife’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Herbalife

In other news, Director Rodica Macadrai purchased 5,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.31 per share, with a total value of $48,179.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 12,716 shares in the company, valued at $118,385.96. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Henry C. Wang acquired 2,778 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.30 per share, for a total transaction of $25,835.40. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,604.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rodica Macadrai acquired 5,175 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.31 per share, for a total transaction of $48,179.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,716 shares in the company, valued at $118,385.96. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 85,757 shares of company stock valued at $723,278. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in Herbalife during the 1st quarter valued at $274,000. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in shares of Herbalife in the 1st quarter worth about $4,013,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 164.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,288,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,658,000 after buying an additional 801,644 shares during the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 132,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,022,000 after buying an additional 76,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 78,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after buying an additional 2,550 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Company Profile

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.