Short Interest in JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) Expands By 16.7%

JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 29,856,576 shares, an increase of 16.7% from the March 31st total of 25,581,358 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,952,928 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

JD.com Stock Performance

Shares of JD stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.96. The company had a trading volume of 4,697,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,316,377. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.48. JD.com has a 52-week low of $24.51 and a 52-week high of $38.08. The stock has a market cap of $42.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The information services provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. JD.com had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 1.48%.The company had revenue of $50.35 billion for the quarter. Research analysts anticipate that JD.com will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JD.com Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of JD.com

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JD.com by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,104 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 2,209 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JD.com by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 39,769 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 7,951 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JD.com by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 13,640 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 2,388 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of JD.com by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,161 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 4,792 shares during the period. Finally, Canal Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of JD.com in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $258,000. 15.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on JD shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of JD.com in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on JD.com from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on JD.com from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of JD.com in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on JD.com from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.38.

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.