Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) Stock Has Average Target Price of $17.67

Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.67.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HLF shares. Weiss Ratings cut Herbalife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Texas Capital raised Herbalife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down from $21.00) on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Herbalife in a report on Thursday, September 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Miramontes Capital LLC bought a new stake in Herbalife during the second quarter valued at $179,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Herbalife in the 2nd quarter worth about $140,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in shares of Herbalife by 154.1% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 202,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 122,788 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 428,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,633,000 after purchasing an additional 121,026 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 697.8% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 179,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 156,672 shares during the period.

Herbalife Stock Up 0.4%

Herbalife stock opened at $12.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.85. Herbalife has a twelve month low of $7.56 and a twelve month high of $20.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.19.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.03). Herbalife had a net margin of 3.16% and a negative return on equity of 43.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herbalife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, September 8th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 19.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Herbalife

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, balanced nutrition, energy, sports performance and personal care.

The company’s product portfolio includes meal-replacement shakes, protein and fiber products, dietary supplements, vitamins, herbal teas, sports nutrition products and skin- and body-care items. Herbalife distributes its products in markets around the world, including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa, primarily through direct selling and independent members who provide product information and personalized support to consumers.

Herbalife was founded in 1980 by Mark Hughes and has since expanded from a primarily weight-management business into a broader nutrition and wellness enterprise.