USANA Health Sciences (NYSE:USNA) Shares Up 3.8% – Should You Buy?

USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NYSE:USNA)’s stock price traded up 3.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $27.17 and last traded at $27.25. 42,753 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 107,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USNA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sidoti downgraded USANA Health Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered USANA Health Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on USANA Health Sciences from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

USANA Health Sciences Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $515.82 million, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.25.

USANA Health Sciences (NYSE:USNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $213.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.82 million. USANA Health Sciences had a net margin of 6.30% and a return on equity of 10.64%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that USANA Health Sciences, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at USANA Health Sciences

In related news, CEO Jim Brown sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.47, for a total value of $147,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,150.52. This trade represents a 24.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joshua Foukas sold 5,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $186,519.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,920 shares of company stock valued at $500,285 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On USANA Health Sciences

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 773,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,751,000 after buying an additional 55,059 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 592,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,247,000 after purchasing an additional 47,745 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in USANA Health Sciences by 330.0% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 39,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 30,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in USANA Health Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $953,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.