Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Down 4.5% - Here's What Happened

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) shares were down 4.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $6.75 and last traded at $6.78. Approximately 737,602 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 2,158,769 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Herbalife Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $651.12 million, a PE ratio of 7.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's 50 day moving average is $7.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.81.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 1.73%. On average, equities analysts predict that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Herbalife by 63.7% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 24,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 9,513 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Herbalife in the third quarter valued at $246,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 347.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 125,311 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 4.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,615,514 shares of the company's stock worth $18,809,000 after buying an additional 105,431 shares during the period. Finally, Prentice Capital Management LP grew its position in Herbalife by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Prentice Capital Management LP now owns 233,851 shares of the company's stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 49,747 shares in 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.