Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) Trading 2.9% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO - Get Free Report) was up 2.9% during trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $6.50 and last traded at $6.48. Approximately 312,643 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,122,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.30.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 8.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MOMO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark reduced their price target on Hello Group from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Hello Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Hello Group from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hello Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.83.

Hello Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a current ratio of 3.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.68.

Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The information services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). Hello Group had a return on equity of 17.23% and a net margin of 16.27%. The business had revenue of $422.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.28 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hello Group Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hello Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,163 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Hello Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Hello Group during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Hello Group by 103.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,041 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 3,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hello Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 50.96% of the company's stock.

About Hello Group

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.