Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Upgraded at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $14.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $7.50.

Herbalife Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HLF traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.27. 1,502,631 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,197,147. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $7.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.21. Herbalife has a 52-week low of $5.04 and a 52-week high of $12.79. The company has a market cap of $838.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.03.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.28. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 20.78%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Herbalife will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herbalife

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 5,000 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.25 per share, for a total transaction of $41,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 132,500 shares of the company's stock, 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 this link. 1.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HLF. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in Herbalife by 107.1% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 966,063 shares of the company's stock worth $6,463,000 after buying an additional 499,572 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Herbalife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. US Bancorp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $322,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 610,953 shares of the company's stock worth $4,087,000 after purchasing an additional 60,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Herbalife by 347.0% in the 3rd 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.

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.