Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Rating Increased to Buy at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. DA Davidson currently has $14.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $7.50.

Herbalife Stock Up 5.3 %

HLF stock opened at $8.42 on Friday. Herbalife has a twelve month low of $5.04 and a twelve month high of $12.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $6.97 and its 200-day moving average is $7.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $852.89 million, a PE ratio of 3.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.03.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.28. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 20.78% and a net margin of 5.09%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Herbalife news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.25 per share, for a total transaction of $41,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 132,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,125. The trade was a 3.92 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 107.1% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 966,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,463,000 after acquiring an additional 499,572 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Herbalife during the fourth quarter worth $221,000. US Bancorp DE bought a new stake in Herbalife during the fourth quarter worth $322,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Herbalife by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 610,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,087,000 after buying an additional 60,158 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Herbalife by 347.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after buying an additional 125,311 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.