Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Herbalife from “strong-buy” to “buy”, adding to a mixed analyst backdrop that currently leaves the stock with a Hold consensus rating and a $17.80 average price target.
• Herbalife reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $0.64 versus $0.61 expected and revenue of $1.32 billion versus $1.30 billion expected, while revenue rose 7.8% year over year.
• Insider selling has been notable, including large share sales by COO Troy Hicks and insider Frank Lamberti; insiders sold a total of 191,296 shares worth about $2.55 million over the last 90 days.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

HLF has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho set a $17.00 price target on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Herbalife from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Zacks Research cut Herbalife from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Herbalife from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.80.

Herbalife Price Performance

Herbalife stock opened at $12.01 on Friday. Herbalife has a 12-month low of $7.56 and a 12-month high of $20.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 5.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.74.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.30 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 41.47% and a net margin of 4.67%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Herbalife will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Herbalife

In other news, COO Troy Hicks sold 10,000 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.32, for a total transaction of $123,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,706 shares in the company, valued at $119,577.92. The trade was a 50.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Frank Lamberti sold 134,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total value of $1,822,257.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 36,624 shares in the company, valued at $494,424. This represents a 78.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 191,296 shares of company stock valued at $2,551,678 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Herbalife in the fourth quarter worth $1,795,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Herbalife by 291.2% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 141,277 shares of the company's stock worth $2,080,000 after buying an additional 105,160 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new position in Herbalife during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,636,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Herbalife by 82.6% during the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 768,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,900,000 after buying an additional 347,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 1,156.1% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC now owns 414,500 shares of the company's stock worth $5,343,000 after buying an additional 381,500 shares during the last quarter.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. NYSE: HLF operates as a global multi-level marketing company specializing in weight-management, nutritional supplement, sports nutrition and personal care products. Its portfolio includes protein shakes, vitamins, energy and fitness supplements, hydration products and skin and hair care items, all formulated to support wellness, performance and healthy living. Products are manufactured in GMP-certified facilities to ensure consistent quality and safety standards.

Founded in 1980 by Mark R.

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