Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.80.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HLF shares. Mizuho set a $17.00 price target on Herbalife in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research cut Herbalife from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Herbalife from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Herbalife news, insider Frank Lamberti sold 134,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total transaction of $1,822,257.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 36,624 shares in the company, valued at $494,424. This represents a 78.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optimize Financial Inc bought a new stake in Herbalife during the third quarter worth $511,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Herbalife during the third quarter worth $911,000. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new stake in Herbalife during the third quarter worth $368,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Herbalife during the third quarter worth $898,000. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Herbalife during the third quarter worth $532,000.

Herbalife Trading Down 3.6%

Herbalife stock opened at $12.14 on Wednesday. Herbalife has a 12 month low of $6.63 and a 12 month high of $20.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $15.14 and its 200-day moving average is $14.54. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.32, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.98.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 41.47% and a net margin of 4.67%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Herbalife will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.