Qfin (NASDAQ:QFIN) Stock Price Up 4.4% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Qfin Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:QFIN) saw its stock price increase by 4.4% with a last traded price of $26.63, despite a significant drop in trading volume.
• Analyst ratings have been mixed, with Zacks Research downgrading the stock to a "strong sell," while JPMorgan has an "overweight" rating with a price target of $65.00.
• The company recently declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a yield of 541.0%, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.70.

Shares of Qfin Holdings Inc. - Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:QFIN - Get Free Report) rose 4.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $26.76 and last traded at $26.63. Approximately 706,648 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 1,728,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QFIN has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered Qfin from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Qfin in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Qfin in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Qfin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.73.

Qfin Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.42.

Qfin (NASDAQ:QFIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.01). Qfin had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 38.66%.The company had revenue of $728.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Qfin Holdings Inc. - Sponsored ADR will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

Qfin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a yield of 541.0%. This is a positive change from Qfin's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.70. Qfin's payout ratio is 21.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qfin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QFIN. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Qfin in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Qfin in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Qfin by 472.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 739 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Qfin in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Qfin by 250.2% during the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 823 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the period. 74.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qfin Company Profile

Qifu Technology, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates credit-tech platform under the 360 Jietiao brand in the People's Republic of China. It provides credit-driven services that matches borrowers with financial institutions to conduct customer acquisition, initial and credit screening, advanced risk assessment, credit assessment, fund matching, and other post-facilitation services; and platform services, including loan facilitation and post-facilitation services to financial institution partners under intelligence credit engine, referral services, and risk management software-as-a-service.

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