Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE:NUS) Trading 15.6% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Nu Skin Enterprises shares saw a significant increase of 15.6% following the announcement of a $0.06 per share dividend to be paid on September 10th.
• Despite the positive stock movement, Wall Street Zen downgraded the company from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating in a recent report.
• For its latest quarter, Nu Skin reported earnings per share of $0.43, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.18, with revenues of $386.14 million.

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 15.6% during trading on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $9.99 and last traded at $10.32. 488,983 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 650,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.93.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Nu Skin Enterprises's payout ratio is 11.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Nu Skin Enterprises from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Nu Skin Enterprises to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Nu Skin Enterprises Stock Up 1.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $571.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE:NUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.18. Nu Skin Enterprises had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 6.20%. The firm had revenue of $386.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.68 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nu Skin Enterprises

In related news, Director Edwina D. Woodbury sold 4,532 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.44, for a total value of $38,250.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 42,947 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $362,472.68. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Keith Hatchett purchased 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.54 per share, for a total transaction of $49,010.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 162,065 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,970.10. This represents a 4.18% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nu Skin Enterprises

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NUS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 405,667 shares of the company's stock worth $2,795,000 after purchasing an additional 173,710 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,307 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,091 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 34,509 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 8,814 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 12,146 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.84% of the company's stock.

About Nu Skin Enterprises

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and distribution of various beauty and wellness products worldwide. It offers skin care devices, cosmetics, and other personal care products, including ageLOC LumiSpa and ageLOC LumiSpa iO; and nutricentials skin care products.