Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) Rating Lowered to Underperform at Bank of America

Bank of America cut shares of Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) from a buy rating to an underperform rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hello Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Hello Group from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hello Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.93.

Hello Group Trading Down 4.3 %

NASDAQ MOMO opened at $6.94 on Wednesday. Hello Group has a 1 year low of $4.79 and a 1 year high of $8.19. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 6.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $6.93 and a 200 day moving average of $6.47.

Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 3rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $2.13. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Hello Group had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Hello Group will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hello Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Hello Group by 24.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 70,229 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 13,598 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hello Group in the 1st quarter valued at $154,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Hello Group by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,277,629 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,144,000 after purchasing an additional 571,840 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake 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 worth $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 93,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 50.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.