Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $13.00 to $11.00. The stock had previously closed at $7.20, but opened at $6.66. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Herbalife shares last traded at $6.79, with a volume of 336,620 shares trading hands.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Herbalife from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson raised shares of Herbalife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $7.50 to $14.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Herbalife news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.25 per share, with a total value of $41,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 132,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,125. The trade was a 3.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Herbalife by 347.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after buying an additional 125,311 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Herbalife during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $246,000. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Herbalife by 63.7% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 24,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 9,513 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Herbalife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 192,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after buying an additional 32,572 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $7.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.25. The firm has a market cap of $741.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.02.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 20.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.