Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Herbalife from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Citigroup reiterated 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 shares of Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. UBS Group set a $21.00 price objective on Herbalife in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Herbalife from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Herbalife Price Performance

Shares of HLF opened at $15.54 on Monday. Herbalife has a 1 year low of $8.65 and a 1 year high of $20.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.74.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. Herbalife had a net margin of 3.41% and a negative return on equity of 52.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Herbalife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, September 8th that permits the company to buy back $250 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 19.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Herbalife by 39.4% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 428,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,633,000 after purchasing an additional 121,026 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Herbalife during the second quarter valued at $1,372,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Herbalife during the second quarter valued at $5,842,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Herbalife during the third quarter valued at $1,052,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in Herbalife by 154.1% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 202,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 122,788 shares in the last quarter.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Ltd. is a global nutrition company that develops and sells products focused on nutrition, weight management, fitness and personal care. Its offerings include meal-replacement shakes, protein products, dietary supplements, teas and sports-nutrition products. Founded in 1980 by Mark Hughes, Herbalife sells its products through a network of independent distributors who also provide product information and support to customers. The company serves customers in markets around the world and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.