When Should You Buy Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)?

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), is not the largest company out there, but it led the NYSE gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. With many analysts covering the stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Herbalife’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.

See our latest analysis for Herbalife

Is Herbalife Still Cheap?

Good news, investors! Herbalife is still a bargain right now according to my price multiple model, which compares the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. I’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 8.16x is currently well-below the industry average of 25.91x, meaning that it is trading at a cheaper price relative to its peers. However, given that Herbalife’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

What does the future of Herbalife look like?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. In the upcoming year, Herbalife's earnings are expected to increase by 20%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? Since HLF is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. With a positive profit outlook on the horizon, it seems like this growth has not yet been fully factored into the share price. However, there are also other factors such as financial health to consider, which could explain the current price multiple.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on HLF for a while, now might be the time to enter the stock. Its prosperous future profit outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy HLF. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to make a well-informed assessment.

If you want to dive deeper into Herbalife, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that Herbalife has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

If you are no longer interested in Herbalife, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.