Short Interest in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) Increases By 7.0%

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,140,000 shares, an increase of 7.0% from the October 15th total of 13,210,000 shares. Currently, 14.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ibelis Montesino sold 6,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.99, for a total value of $98,993.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,967.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Herbalife by 150.0% in the first quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Herbalife in the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Herbalife by 36.7% in the second quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 6,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Herbalife by 9.9% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 8,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in Herbalife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $121,000.

Herbalife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLF traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.79. 1,263,363 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,554,167. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.09. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 1.21. Herbalife has a twelve month low of $11.14 and a twelve month high of $21.33.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 3.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Herbalife will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on HLF shares. DA Davidson started coverage on Herbalife in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $13.50 price objective for the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Herbalife from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Herbalife from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 10th. TheStreet lowered Herbalife from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Herbalife in a report on Monday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.25.

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. The company provides products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; outer nutrition; and literature and promotion items.