State of Wyoming Takes Position in Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. $NATR

State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATR) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 25,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $601,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NATR. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Nature’s Sunshine Products in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,544,000. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC bought a new position in Nature’s Sunshine Products during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,923,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products by 15.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 803,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,464,000 after acquiring an additional 106,688 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products by 44.4% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,602,000 after acquiring an additional 97,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products by 14.6% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 675,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,488,000 after acquiring an additional 86,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NATR has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson raised shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $37.00 target price on shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Nature’s Sunshine Products Price Performance

Shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products stock opened at $20.40 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $358.63 million, a P/E ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.87. Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. has a one year low of $12.97 and a one year high of $28.14.

Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $122.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.15 million. Nature’s Sunshine Products had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 4.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryant J. Yates sold 11,968 shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total value of $238,163.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,541,175.40. The trade was a 13.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kevin R. Herbert sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.68, for a total transaction of $41,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,010,548.88. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 35,696 shares of company stock valued at $742,407 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

About Nature’s Sunshine Products

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc is a global manufacturer and direct seller of nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, and personal care products. The company’s core business centers on research, development and distribution of vitamins, minerals, botanicals and essential oil-based formulations designed to support overall health and wellness. Operating under a network-marketing model, Nature’s Sunshine works through a network of independent distributors who promote and sell its product line directly to consumers.

The company’s product portfolio spans dietary supplements such as single-ingredient vitamins, proprietary herbal blends, sports nutrition formulas and weight-management solutions, along with skin and hair care items based on botanical extracts and essential oils.