Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Herbalife has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating improved analyst confidence in the stock.
• Mizuho raised its price target for Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00, while Citigroup lowered its target from $13.00 to $11.00, with an overall consensus target price currently at $11.50.
• Herbalife reported a quarterly EPS of $0.59, surpassing the consensus of $0.40, despite a 3.4% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on HLF. Mizuho upped their target price on Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup cut their target price on Herbalife from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.50.

Herbalife Stock Performance

Shares of HLF stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.46. The company had a trading volume of 544,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,165,169. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $8.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.70. Herbalife has a one year low of $5.04 and a one year high of $10.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $962.96 million, a P/E ratio of 3.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.75 per share, for a total transaction of $33,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 166,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,126,284.75. This trade represents a 3.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Herbalife by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,495,374 shares of the company's stock worth $107,835,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,957 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Herbalife by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 7,088,868 shares of the company's stock worth $47,425,000 after acquiring an additional 638,567 shares during the period. Long Focus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Herbalife by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,943,000 shares of the company's stock worth $42,658,000 after acquiring an additional 184,873 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Herbalife by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,057,219 shares of the company's stock worth $26,384,000 after acquiring an additional 360,659 shares during the period. Finally, Iridian Asset Management LLC CT grew its holdings in Herbalife by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 2,775,430 shares of the company's stock worth $23,952,000 after acquiring an additional 267,690 shares during the period.

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.