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

Shares of Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.93.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark cut 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. StockNews.com upgraded Hello Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Hello Group from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hello Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Hello Group by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,274,996 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,711,000 after acquiring an additional 555,602 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hello Group by 994.2% during the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,617,308 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469,500 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Hello Group by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 448,013 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 93,238 shares during the period. BRIGHT VALLEY CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in Hello Group in the second quarter worth $22,553,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Hello Group by 33.5% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,277,629 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,144,000 after buying an additional 571,840 shares during the last quarter. 50.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hello Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MOMO opened at $7.73 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.26. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.03, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. Hello Group has a one year low of $4.79 and a one year high of $8.19.

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