USANA Health Sciences (NYSE:USNA) Shares Up 4.8% – Here’s What Happened

USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NYSE:USNA) shot up 4.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $32.00 and last traded at $32.34. 108,272 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 172,087 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on USNA. Sidoti downgraded USANA Health Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded USANA Health Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on USANA Health Sciences from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

USANA Health Sciences Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.02 and a 200-day moving average of $36.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $627.70 million, a PE ratio of 11.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.98.

USANA Health Sciences (NYSE:USNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.15. USANA Health Sciences had a return on equity of 10.64% and a net margin of 6.30%. The firm had revenue of $213.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.82 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that USANA Health Sciences, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other USANA Health Sciences news, CEO Jim Brown sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.47, for a total value of $147,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $463,150.52. This trade represents a 24.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On USANA Health Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,087,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,015,000 after buying an additional 37,466 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in USANA Health Sciences by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 773,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,751,000 after acquiring an additional 55,059 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in USANA Health Sciences by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 592,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,247,000 after acquiring an additional 47,745 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 435,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,501,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 301,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.25% of the company’s stock.

About USANA Health Sciences

USANA Health Sciences, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells science-based nutritional, personal care, and skincare products in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe. The company offers USANA nutritional products that comprise essentials/CellSentials, such as vitamin and mineral supplements that provide a foundation of total body nutrition for various age groups; optimizers consisting of targeted supplements that are designed to meet cardiovascular, skeletal/structural, and digestive health needs; and food that include meal replacement shakes, snack bars, and other related products.