Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Trading Down 5.6% – Should You Sell?

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) fell 5.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $8.37 and last traded at $8.42. 666,187 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,200,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.90.

Herbalife Trading Down 5.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $818.18 million, a P/E ratio of 3.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $6.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.22.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.28. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 20.78% and a net margin of 5.09%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.25 per share, with a total value of $41,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 132,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,125. The trade was a 3.92 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in Herbalife by 107.1% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 966,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,463,000 after acquiring an additional 499,572 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth $221,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Herbalife by 347.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 125,311 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Herbalife by 72.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 168,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 70,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Herbalife by 83.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 8,591 shares during the period.

About Herbalife

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.