Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on HLF. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Herbalife from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Herbalife from $9.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $12.33.

Herbalife Price Performance

NYSE HLF opened at $8.31 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $830.73 million, a PE ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 1.25. Herbalife has a 1 year low of $6.68 and a 1 year high of $15.96.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.11. Herbalife had a net margin of 1.63% and a negative return on equity of 18.69%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Herbalife’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 98.9% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 20,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 10,033 shares in the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 11.3% in the second quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 3,202,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,279,000 after acquiring an additional 323,969 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 3.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 51,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 409.4% in the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 127,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 102,784 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the second quarter worth about $602,000.

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.