Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $5.62, but opened at $7.23. Herbalife shares last traded at $7.45, with a volume of 6,189,169 shares.

The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 1.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Herbalife from $13.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho upped their target price on Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLF. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 641.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,714 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Herbalife by 110.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 5,524 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Herbalife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 12,307.6% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 11,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 11,323 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Stock Up 32.2 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $6.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.23. The stock has a market cap of $749.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.15.

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.