Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Stock Rating Lowered by HSBC

HSBC downgraded shares of Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Match Group from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Match Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Match Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Match Group in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

Match Group Stock Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $34.59 on Thursday. Match Group has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $38.84. The firm has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.66.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a negative return on equity of 721.15% and a net margin of 17.86%. Sell-side analysts expect that Match Group will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Match Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.93%.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total value of $25,319.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $391,900.78. This represents a 6.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTCH. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,951,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Match Group in the 4th quarter valued at $704,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Match Group by 468.6% during the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,481,967 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221,347 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Match Group by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,035 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Match Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Match Group

Match Group, Inc engages in the provision of dating products. Its portfolio of brands includes Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Pairs, Plenty Of Fish, Azar, BLK, and Hakuna, as well as a various other brands, each built to increase users' likelihood of connecting with others. Its services are available in over 40 languages to users worldwide.