Q Global Advisors LLC Makes New $2.44 Million Investment in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)

Q Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 364,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,000. Herbalife makes up 2.5% of Q Global Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 777.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,987,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646,848 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,570,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,078 shares during the period. Long Focus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,758,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,127 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,271,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,406,000 after purchasing an additional 785,574 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 83.8% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,444,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,663,000 after purchasing an additional 658,536 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson raised shares of Herbalife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $7.50 to $14.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Herbalife from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.50.

Insider Activity

In other Herbalife news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.73 per share, for a total transaction of $33,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 140,000 shares in the company, valued at $942,200. This trade represents a 3.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 17,500 shares of company stock worth $128,650. 1.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Herbalife Stock Performance

Herbalife stock opened at $6.67 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $7.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.21. The stock has a market cap of $678.81 million, a P/E ratio of 2.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.88. Herbalife Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $5.04 and a fifty-two week high of $12.79.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 20.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

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.