DA Davidson Upgrades Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) to “Buy”

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) was upgraded by equities research analysts at DA Davidson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $14.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $7.50. DA Davidson’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 66.35% from the stock’s previous close.

Herbalife Stock Up 5.3 %

Herbalife stock opened at $8.42 on Friday. Herbalife has a 52 week low of $5.04 and a 52 week high of $12.79. The company has a market capitalization of $852.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.21.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’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 acquisition, the director now owns 132,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,125. The trade was a 3.92 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 641.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,714 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Herbalife by 110.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 5,524 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 12,307.6% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 11,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 11,323 shares during the last quarter.

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.