JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 27,910,000 shares, a decrease of 16.0% from the February 28th total of 33,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on JD. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of JD.com from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group set a $51.00 target price on shares of JD.com in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on JD.com from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of JD.com in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of JD.com from $47.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, JD.com currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.64.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JD.com

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in JD.com by 86.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,447,641 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $986,280,000 after buying an additional 13,170,649 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in JD.com by 329.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,306,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $252,268,000 after acquiring an additional 4,839,700 shares during the period. CoreView Capital Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of JD.com by 204.8% in the fourth quarter. CoreView Capital Management Ltd now owns 6,399,711 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $221,878,000 after buying an additional 4,299,872 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP boosted its holdings in JD.com by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 10,465,885 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $362,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,165,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in JD.com during the 4th quarter valued at $109,665,000. 15.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

JD.com Stock Up 0.4 %

JD.com stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.29. 6,686,208 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,610,891. JD.com has a twelve month low of $24.13 and a twelve month high of $47.82. The company has a market cap of $65.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.29 and a 200-day moving average of $38.64.

JD.com Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. This is a boost from JD.com’s previous annual dividend of $0.74. JD.com’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.13%.

About JD.com

JD.com, Inc operates as a supply chain-based technology and service provider in the People's Republic of China. The company offers computers, communication, and consumer electronics products, as well as home appliances; and general merchandise products comprising food, beverage and fresh produce, baby and maternity products, furniture and household goods, cosmetics and other personal care items, pharmaceutical and healthcare products, industrial products, books, automobile accessories, apparel and footwear, bags, and jewelry.