USANA Health Sciences (NYSE:USNA) Trading Up 16% on Earnings Beat

USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NYSE:USNA) rose 16% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $28.35 and last traded at $28.13. Approximately 34,054 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 194,470 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.24.

The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. USANA Health Sciences had a net margin of 6.30% and a return on equity of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $249.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on USNA shares. StockNews.com lowered USANA Health Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Sidoti cut USANA Health Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on USANA Health Sciences from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David Mulham Mulham sold 3,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total transaction of $106,657.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $421,319.50. This trade represents a 20.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jim Brown sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.47, for a total value of $147,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,150.52. The trade was a 24.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,920 shares of company stock worth $500,285. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On USANA Health Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in USANA Health Sciences by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 435,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,501,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 111.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 14,647 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 297,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,269,000 after purchasing an additional 12,898 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in USANA Health Sciences by 9.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in USANA Health Sciences by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 50,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,814,000 after buying an additional 2,723 shares during the period. 54.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

USANA Health Sciences Trading Up 5.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $481.09 million, a PE ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.33.

About USANA Health Sciences

USANA Health Sciences, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells science-based nutritional, personal care, and skincare products in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe. The company offers USANA nutritional products that comprise essentials/CellSentials, such as vitamin and mineral supplements that provide a foundation of total body nutrition for various age groups; optimizers consisting of targeted supplements that are designed to meet cardiovascular, skeletal/structural, and digestive health needs; and food that include meal replacement shakes, snack bars, and other related products.