Qfin (NASDAQ:QFIN) Reaches New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• Qfin shares fell to a new 52-week low of $5.86, down from a prior close of $6.20, while trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment has deteriorated, with multiple firms downgrading the stock to Sell or Underweight; Qfin has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $12.29.
• The company cut its quarterly dividend to $0.46 from $0.78, while insider selling continued after director Andrew Yan sold 330,000 shares and insiders sold 657,550 shares over the past 90 days.

Shares of Qfin Holdings Inc. - Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:QFIN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $5.86 and last traded at $5.92, with a volume of 1,736,482 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Qfin from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $13.50 to $9.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Qfin in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Qfin in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lowered shares of Qfin from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $8.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Qfin from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qfin currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $12.29.

Qfin Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $720.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.26.

Qfin (NASDAQ:QFIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $524.96 million during the quarter. Qfin had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 22.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Qfin Holdings Inc. - Sponsored ADR will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Qfin Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a drop from Qfin's previous dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a yield of 1,070.0%. Qfin's payout ratio is presently 21.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrew Yan sold 330,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.52, for a total value of $2,481,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 326,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,456,784. This represents a 50.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 657,550 shares of company stock valued at $4,889,121. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qfin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Qfin by 813.7% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,669 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 4,158 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Qfin in the 1st quarter worth about $136,000. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Qfin by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,906 shares of the company's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Qfin during the 2nd quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Qfin by 247.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 24,063 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 17,144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.81% of the company's stock.

About Qfin

Qifu Technology, Inc, formerly known as 360 DigiTech, Inc and 360 Finance, is a China-based financial technology company. The company operates a technology platform that connects consumers seeking credit with financial institutions and other lending partners.

Qifu provides online consumer finance services, including credit assessment, loan facilitation, risk management, and post-loan servicing. Its technology uses data analysis, artificial intelligence, and automated tools to support borrower acquisition, underwriting, transaction processing, and credit monitoring.

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