PPDAI Group (NYSE:FINV) Shares Down 7.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares fell 7.6% to about $4.78 on Thursday (intraday low $4.84) on light volume (318,131 shares, down 74% vs. average), leaving the stock below its 50‑day ($5.32) and 200‑day ($5.66) moving averages.
• Analysts show a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $12.10, but coverage is mixed (one Buy, one Hold) and Weiss Ratings recently reaffirmed a "Hold (c)".
• Fundamentals cited include a $1.24B market cap, PE of 3.68, net margin of 18.7% and ROE of 16.39%; the company also declared a $0.306 annual dividend (ex‑dividend April 16, payable May 7), which the article reports as implying a 497% yield.

Shares of PPDAI Group Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:FINV - Get Free Report) traded down 7.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $4.84 and last traded at $4.7750. 318,131 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,229,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PPDAI Group in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.10.

PPDAI Group Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $5.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a current ratio of 2.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.30.

PPDAI Group (NYSE:FINV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $432.21 million during the quarter. PPDAI Group had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 16.39%.

PPDAI Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th will be issued a $0.306 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 497.0%. This is a boost from PPDAI Group's previous annual dividend of $0.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPDAI Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FINV. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPDAI Group by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,083 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPDAI Group by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 3,655 shares in the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPDAI Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $120,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPDAI Group by 110.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 13,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in PPDAI Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.15% of the company's stock.

PPDAI Group Company Profile

PPDAI Group Inc operates an online consumer finance marketplace that connects individual and institutional investors with personal and small-business borrowers. Through its digital platform, the company facilitates unsecured consumer loans, auto refinancing loans and small-business financing by leveraging proprietary credit assessment tools and big data analytics. Investors gain exposure to a diversified portfolio of retail credit assets, while borrowers benefit from streamlined application processes and competitive financing rates.

At the core of PPDAI's offering is a multi-layered risk management framework that combines automated credit scoring, manual underwriting oversight and third-party data verification.

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