USANA Health Sciences (NYSE:USNA) Trading 3.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on USNA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of USANA Health Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Sidoti lowered USANA Health Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price 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 Up 3.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $515.82 million, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.98. The business 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.15. USANA Health Sciences had a net margin of 6.30% and a return on equity of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $213.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.82 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that USANA Health Sciences, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jim Brown sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,716 shares in the company, valued at $463,150.52. This represents a 24.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David Mulham Mulham sold 3,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total value of $106,657.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,775 shares in the company, valued at $421,319.50. This represents a 20.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,920 shares of company stock worth $500,285 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On USANA Health Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of USNA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 7.7% in 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. grew its stake in USANA Health Sciences by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 592,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,247,000 after acquiring an additional 47,745 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,087,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,015,000 after acquiring an additional 37,466 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 330.0% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 39,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 30,681 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of USANA Health Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $953,000. 54.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.