Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.50.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HLF. Mizuho lowered 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Herbalife from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th.

Insider Activity at Herbalife

In related news, EVP Henry C. Wang acquired 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.30 per share, for a total transaction of $25,835.40. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 176,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,604.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Herbalife news, CEO Michael Johnson bought 61,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.07 per share, with a total value of $498,120.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 603,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,871,915.49. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Henry C. Wang purchased 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.30 per share, for a total transaction of $25,835.40. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,604.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 85,757 shares of company stock worth $723,278 in the last quarter. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 164.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,288,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,658,000 after purchasing an additional 801,644 shares in the last quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT grew its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 1,468,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,411,000 after acquiring an additional 483,635 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Herbalife in the first quarter worth $4,013,000. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the fourth quarter worth $5,799,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Herbalife by 6,949,960.0% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 347,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,862,000 after purchasing an additional 347,498 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Trading Up 0.3 %

Herbalife stock opened at $8.68 on Thursday. Herbalife has a 52 week low of $6.68 and a 52 week high of $19.48. The stock has a market cap of $866.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $8.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.63.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.10). Herbalife had a net margin of 2.81% and a negative return on equity of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Herbalife will post 1.8 earnings per share 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.