Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the three ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.25.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hello Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Hello Group from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 15th.

Hello Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MOMO opened at $5.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Hello Group has a 12-month low of $5.30 and a 12-month high of $11.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.68.

Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The information services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $422.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.28 million. Hello Group had a return on equity of 17.23% and a net margin of 16.27%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hello Group will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Hello Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 8.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Hello Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Hello Group by 254.8% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,012 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,163 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hello Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Hello Group by 49.6% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,502 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 2,819 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Hello Group by 103.0% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,041 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 3,573 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.96% of the company’s stock.

Hello Group Company Profile

Hello Group Inc provides mobile-based social and entertainment services in the People's Republic of China. The company offers Momo, a mobile application that connects people and facilitates social interactions based on location, interests, and various online recreational activities including, live talent shows, short videos, social games, as well as other video- and audio-based interactive experiences, such as online parties, mobile karaoke and user participated reality shows; Tantan, a social and dating application; and other applications under the Hertz, Soulchill, Duidui, and Tietie names.