Wall Street Zen Downgrades Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) to Hold

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

HLF has been the subject of several other research reports. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $21.00 price target on Herbalife in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.67.

Herbalife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLF opened at $12.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.85. Herbalife has a 1 year low of $7.56 and a 1 year high of $20.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.19.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.03). Herbalife had a net margin of 3.16% and a negative return on equity of 43.90%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Herbalife will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herbalife announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, September 8th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 19.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. Miramontes Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Herbalife during the 2nd quarter worth about $179,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Herbalife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $140,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 154.1% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 202,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 122,788 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Herbalife by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 428,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,633,000 after acquiring an additional 121,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP raised its position in shares of Herbalife by 697.8% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 179,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,355,000 after acquiring an additional 156,672 shares in the last quarter.

Herbalife Company Profile

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, balanced nutrition, energy, sports performance and personal care.

The company’s product portfolio includes meal-replacement shakes, protein and fiber products, dietary supplements, vitamins, herbal teas, sports nutrition products and skin- and body-care items. Herbalife distributes its products in markets around the world, including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa, primarily through direct selling and independent members who provide product information and personalized support to consumers.

Herbalife was founded in 1980 by Mark Hughes and has since expanded from a primarily weight-management business into a broader nutrition and wellness enterprise.