Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Stock Price Down 4.6% – Here’s What Happened

Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF)’s stock price was down 4.6% on Monday. The company traded as low as $14.02 and last traded at $13.9290. 496,484 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 1,560,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HLF shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. UBS Group set a $21.00 price objective on Herbalife in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Herbalife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Herbalife Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.00.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued 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). Herbalife had a net margin of 3.16% and a negative return on equity of 43.90%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Herbalife Ltd will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Herbalife declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, September 8th that permits the company to buy back $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 19.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Herbalife by 11.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,596,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,225,000 after acquiring an additional 267,539 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Herbalife by 29.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,638,000 after acquiring an additional 425,968 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Herbalife in the first quarter valued at approximately $9,491,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Herbalife in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,842,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 39.4% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 428,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,633,000 after purchasing an additional 121,026 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.