PPDAI Group Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:FINV) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

PPDAI Group Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:FINV) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 4,694,706 shares, a decline of 13.1% from the February 12th total of 5,403,287 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 870,461 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.4 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 870,461 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FINV shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PPDAI Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded PPDAI Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.10.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPDAI Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FINV. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PPDAI Group by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,083 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PPDAI Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $94,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in PPDAI Group in the 4th quarter valued at $120,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in PPDAI Group by 110.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 13,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in PPDAI Group during the 4th quarter worth $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.15% of the company’s stock.

PPDAI Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FINV opened at $5.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5.38 and a 200 day moving average of $5.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.30. PPDAI Group has a one year low of $4.70 and a one year high of $10.90.

PPDAI Group (NYSE:FINV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 16th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $432.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.80 million. PPDAI Group had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 16.66%.

PPDAI Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th will be issued a $0.306 dividend. This represents a yield of 497.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 16th. This is a positive change from PPDAI Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.28.

PPDAI Group Company Profile

PPDAI Group Inc operates an online consumer finance marketplace that connects individual and institutional investors with personal and small-business borrowers. Through its digital platform, the company facilitates unsecured consumer loans, auto refinancing loans and small-business financing by leveraging proprietary credit assessment tools and big data analytics. Investors gain exposure to a diversified portfolio of retail credit assets, while borrowers benefit from streamlined application processes and competitive financing rates.

At the core of PPDAI’s offering is a multi-layered risk management framework that combines automated credit scoring, manual underwriting oversight and third-party data verification.