Short Interest in Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO) Declines By 33.6%

Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,490,000 shares, a drop of 33.6% from the April 30th total of 3,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hello Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Hello Group by 86.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,676 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 14,211 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hello Group by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,287 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,414 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Hello Group by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 35,763 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 11,484 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hello Group during the fourth quarter worth $158,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Hello Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,861 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MOMO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hello Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Hello Group in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.00.

Hello Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MOMO traded up $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.25. The company had a trading volume of 262,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,210,568. The company has a market cap of $753.04 million, a P/E ratio of 6.44, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.24. The business's 50-day moving average is $5.88 and its 200 day moving average is $6.74. Hello Group has a 52 week low of $5.12 and a 52 week high of $8.38.

Hello Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.18%.

Hello Group Company Profile

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.