Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Down 4.6% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Herbalife shares fell 4.6% to about $13.93 in mid-day trading, with volume down 68% from the average. The company has a market capitalization of approximately $1.46 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $17.67, although recent ratings have included both upgrades and downgrades.
• Herbalife reported quarterly EPS of $0.51, missing estimates by $0.03, while revenue reached $1.33 billion and rose 5.4% year over year. The board also authorized a $250 million share repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 19.3% of outstanding shares.

Shares of Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) fell 4.6% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $14.02 and last traded at $13.9290. 496,484 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 1,560,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $21.00 price objective on Herbalife in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Herbalife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Herbalife from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Herbalife from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded Herbalife to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Herbalife has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.67.

Herbalife Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.44 and a 200-day moving average of $13.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.78.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 3.16% and a negative return on equity of 43.90%. Herbalife's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Herbalife Ltd will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herbalife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, September 8th that permits the company to buy back $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 19.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Herbalife by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,596,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,225,000 after purchasing an additional 267,539 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Herbalife by 29.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,717 shares of the company's stock worth $27,638,000 after buying an additional 425,968 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the first quarter worth $9,491,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Herbalife during the second quarter worth $5,842,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 39.4% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 428,376 shares of the company's stock worth $5,633,000 after buying an additional 121,026 shares in the last quarter.

Herbalife Company Profile

Herbalife Ltd. NYSE: HLF is a global nutrition and wellness company that develops and sells products through a network of independent distributors. Its offerings are designed to support weight management, sports performance, energy, and general well-being.

The company's product portfolio includes meal-replacement shakes, protein products, dietary supplements, vitamins, teas, hydration products, sports nutrition products, and personal-care items. Herbalife distributes its products in more than 90 countries through direct selling, including person-to-person sales, nutrition clubs, and online channels operated by its independent distributors.

Herbalife was founded in 1980 by Mark Hughes and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

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