Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Issues Earnings Results

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $15.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $15.28 by $0.35, MarketWatch Earnings reports. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $224.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Alibaba Group stock opened at $77.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $199.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 0.67. Alibaba Group has a 12 month low of $74.58 and a 12 month high of $121.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.58.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BABA. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $142.00 to $136.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $151.00 to $147.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. HSBC reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $142.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $131.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 322.7% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,029,238 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,303,636,000 after acquiring an additional 11,473,618 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,815,514 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,128,919,000 after acquiring an additional 142,563 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 39.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,034,187 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,127,475,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124,057 shares during the period. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 9,563,814 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $977,231,000 after purchasing an additional 352,817 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 18.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,443,677 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $964,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,767 shares during the period. 14.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.