JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) Rating Increased to Buy at Arete Research

Arete Research upgraded shares of JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of JD.com from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of JD.com from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of JD.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of JD.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of JD.com from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.21.

JD.com Stock Up 0.9%

JD.com stock opened at $31.60 on Friday. JD.com has a fifty-two week low of $24.51 and a fifty-two week high of $38.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.77. The company has a market capitalization of $45.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.36.

JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The information services provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. JD.com had a net margin of 1.48% and a return on equity of 7.56%. The firm had revenue of $50.35 billion during the quarter. Research analysts expect that JD.com will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

JD.com Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a yield of 353.0%. This is a boost from JD.com’s previous annual dividend of $0.76. JD.com’s dividend payout ratio is 55.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JD.com

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JD. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in JD.com by 139.0% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,334,816 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $128,181,000 after buying an additional 2,521,045 shares during the period. SIH Partners LLLP boosted its position in JD.com by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. SIH Partners LLLP now owns 4,991,448 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $143,255,000 after buying an additional 2,125,212 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in JD.com in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,741,000. Syquant Capital Sas purchased a new position in JD.com in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,323,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in JD.com by 1,172.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,234,636 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,434,000 after buying an additional 1,137,592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.98% of the company’s stock.

About JD.com

JD.com is a major Chinese e-commerce company that operates a comprehensive online retail platform selling a wide range of consumer goods, including electronics, appliances, apparel, groceries and everyday household items. The company combines direct retailing—purchasing inventory and selling products itself—with a marketplace for third-party merchants, offering consumers both self-operated and third-party choices. In addition to its core retail business, JD.com has expanded into adjacent services such as digital marketplaces for cross-border commerce, online pharmacy and healthcare services, and enterprise-facing cloud and technology solutions.

A distinctive feature of JD.com’s business model is its integrated logistics and fulfillment network.