Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $8.68, but opened at $9.56. Herbalife shares last traded at $9.64, with a volume of 588,702 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.12. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 2.70%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HLF shares. StockNews.com upgraded Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.50 target price on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Herbalife presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Henry C. Wang bought 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.30 per share, with a total value of $25,835.40. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Herbalife news, EVP Henry C. Wang bought 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.30 per share, with a total value of $25,835.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 176,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,604.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 16,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.40 per share, for a total transaction of $151,142.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,622 shares in the company, valued at $513,446.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 85,757 shares of company stock worth $723,278 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT grew its stake in shares of Herbalife by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 1,468,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,411,000 after buying an additional 483,635 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Herbalife by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,989,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,808,000 after acquiring an additional 209,949 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Herbalife by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,561,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,759,000 after purchasing an additional 43,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,742,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,378,000 after purchasing an additional 147,003 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in Herbalife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $381,000.

Herbalife Stock Up 2.1 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.82 and a 200 day moving average of $11.58. The firm has a market cap of $955.99 million, a P/E ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.24.

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.