Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) Short Interest Update

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,670,000 shares, a growth of 7.5% from the January 15th total of 14,580,000 shares. Currently, 16.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.0 days.

Herbalife Stock Up 3.1 %

HLF stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.27. The company had a trading volume of 6,118,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,373,926. Herbalife has a fifty-two week low of $5.04 and a fifty-two week high of $12.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $6.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $836.72 million, a PE ratio of 3.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.15.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. Research analysts predict that Herbalife will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Herbalife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, B. Riley cut their target price on Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

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

Herbalife Company Profile

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.