Insider Buying: Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) Major Shareholder Purchases $2,849,576.82 in Stock

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATR) major shareholder Prescott Group Capital Managem purchased 291,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.77 per share, with a total value of $2,849,576.82. Following the purchase, the insider owned 2,236,152 shares in the company, valued at $21,847,205.04. The trade was a 15.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Prescott Group Capital Managem also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 17th, Prescott Group Capital Managem purchased 20,000 shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.69 per share, for a total transaction of $293,800.00.

Nature’s Sunshine Products Stock Performance

Shares of NATR opened at $10.31 on Thursday. Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.38 and a fifty-two week high of $28.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.62 and a 200 day moving average of $20.02. The firm has a market cap of $178.67 million, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.80.

Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $116.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $129.51 million. Nature’s Sunshine Products had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 10.42%.

Institutional Trading of Nature’s Sunshine Products

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Nature’s Sunshine Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products in the first quarter worth about $37,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products in the first quarter worth about $48,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products by 415.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products in the second quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NATR. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products from $36.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.00.

About Nature’s Sunshine Products

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. develops and sells natural health and wellness products through direct selling, e-commerce and other distribution channels. Its product portfolio includes dietary supplements, herbal supplements, vitamins, minerals, essential oils, sports nutrition products and personal-care items. The company markets products primarily under the Nature’s Sunshine and Synergy WorldWide brands. Nature’s Sunshine focuses on nutritional and herbal wellness products, while Synergy offers supplements and performance-oriented nutrition products.