Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.93.

MOMO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hello Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Hello Group from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Hello Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $13.00 to $6.00 in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Hello Group from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hello Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BRIGHT VALLEY CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in Hello Group in the second quarter valued at $22,553,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hello Group by 26.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,377,789 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,781,000 after buying an additional 1,538,632 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Hello Group by 994.2% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,617,308 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,043,000 after buying an additional 1,469,500 shares during the period. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Hello Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,566,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Hello Group by 188.3% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,001,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,961,000 after acquiring an additional 654,200 shares during the last quarter. 50.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hello Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MOMO opened at $7.61 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.21. Hello Group has a 1-year low of $4.79 and a 1-year high of $7.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.92, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.53.

Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 3rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $2.13. Hello Group had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Hello Group will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

About Hello Group

Hello Group Inc provides mobile-based social and entertainment services in the People's Republic of China. It operates in three segments: Momo, Tantan, and QOOL. 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.