Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $15.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $15.28 by $0.35, MarketWatch Earnings reports. The firm had revenue of $224.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.48 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of BABA stock opened at $77.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 0.67. Alibaba Group has a twelve month low of $74.58 and a twelve month high of $121.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.58.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BABA. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the first quarter valued at about $53,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the first quarter valued at about $2,452,000. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the first quarter valued at about $390,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Alibaba Group by 11.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in Alibaba Group by 46.0% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 7,816 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464 shares during the last quarter. 14.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BABA. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $151.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $142.00 to $136.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $131.20.

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.