Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Given Neutral Rating at DA Davidson

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by equities research analysts at DA Davidson in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $9.50 target price on the stock. DA Davidson’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.04% from the stock’s previous close.

HLF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Herbalife from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Herbalife has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

Herbalife Trading Up 6.2 %

HLF traded up $0.54 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.22. 2,990,324 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,206,438. The stock has a market cap of $920.06 million, a P/E ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.79 and a 200 day moving average of $11.63. Herbalife has a 52 week low of $6.68 and a 52 week high of $19.48.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 2.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Herbalife will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Herbalife

In related news, CEO Michael Johnson acquired 61,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.07 per share, for a total transaction of $498,120.75. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 603,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,871,915.49. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Herbalife news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza bought 16,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.40 per share, with a total value of $151,142.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 54,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,446.80. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Johnson bought 61,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.07 per share, for a total transaction of $498,120.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 603,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,871,915.49. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 85,757 shares of company stock worth $723,278 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLF. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in Herbalife by 21.3% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Herbalife during the first quarter worth $1,397,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 24.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 100,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 19,862 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 13.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 57,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 6,607 shares during the period. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 12.7% during the first quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 6,767 shares during the period.

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.