Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on HLF. UBS Group set a $21.00 target price on shares of Herbalife in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Texas Capital raised shares of Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.67.

Herbalife Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:HLF opened at $12.25 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.21 and its 200 day moving average is $13.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.78. Herbalife has a 52-week low of $7.56 and a 52-week high of $20.40.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herbalife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 8th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 19.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLF. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Herbalife in the first quarter worth about $9,491,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,842,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Herbalife by 29.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,638,000 after buying an additional 425,968 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its position in Herbalife by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 768,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,900,000 after buying an additional 347,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Herbalife by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,596,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,225,000 after buying an additional 267,539 shares during the last quarter.

About Herbalife

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.