Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $108.79.

Several analysts recently commented on BABA shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BABA. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,034 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,085,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter worth about $2,210,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 19.9% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 57,212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,963,000 after buying an additional 9,495 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.3% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,623 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 64.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 4,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 2.6 %

BABA stock opened at $75.59 on Thursday. Alibaba Group has a one year low of $66.63 and a one year high of $102.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.29 and a 200-day moving average of $75.02.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.13. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $30.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.59 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Alibaba Group will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.84%.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

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.