Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Rating Reiterated by Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $150.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on BABA. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $151.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Alibaba Group from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, August 11th. DZ Bank raised Alibaba Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 11th. UBS Group restated a buy rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up from $120.00) on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $131.20.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA stock opened at $78.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $201.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Alibaba Group has a 52 week low of $74.58 and a 52 week high of $121.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The specialty retailer reported $15.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $15.28 by $0.35. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The company had revenue of $224.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 21st will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.9% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Alta Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.9% in the second quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 3,114 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 20,446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 6,887 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 14.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands, retailers, and other businesses to engage with their users and customers in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates through seven segments: China Commerce, International Commerce, Local Consumer Services, Cainiao, Cloud, Digital Media and Entertainment, and Innovation Initiatives and Others.