Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.00.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson raised shares of Herbalife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $7.50 to $14.00 in a report on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.25 per share, with a total value of $41,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 132,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,125. The trade was a 3.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in Herbalife by 107.1% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 966,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,463,000 after acquiring an additional 499,572 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Herbalife during the 4th quarter worth $221,000. US Bancorp DE acquired a new stake in Herbalife during the 4th quarter worth $322,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Herbalife by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 610,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,087,000 after purchasing an additional 60,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Herbalife by 347.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 125,311 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Trading Up 5.3 %

HLF opened at $8.42 on Monday. Herbalife has a 12-month low of $5.04 and a 12-month high of $12.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $852.89 million, a PE ratio of 3.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $6.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.21.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 20.78%. As a group, analysts predict that Herbalife will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.