Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.4615.

MTCH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Match Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Match Group from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Match Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th.

Match Group Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of MTCH opened at $43.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.32. Match Group has a 12 month low of $28.81 and a 12 month high of $43.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.14.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. Match Group had a negative return on equity of 324.82% and a net margin of 20.17%.The firm had revenue of $853.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Match Group will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.27%.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 4,760 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.26, for a total transaction of $201,157.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,216.92. The trade was a 28.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Glenn Schiffman acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $36.63 per share, for a total transaction of $109,890.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 56,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,064,833.10. This trade represents a 5.62% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,291 shares of company stock worth $976,478. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Match Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PointState Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Match Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,754,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Match Group during the second quarter worth $23,631,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Match Group during the second quarter valued at $2,275,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Match Group during the second quarter valued at $13,180,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Match Group by 338.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,143,744 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,124,000 after purchasing an additional 882,821 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Match Group

Match Group, Inc is a provider of online dating and social discovery services. The company operates a portfolio of dating platforms designed to help people form connections, including Tinder, Hinge, Match, Plenty of Fish, OkCupid, Meetic, OurTime, BLK and Chispa. Its services are offered through websites and mobile applications, with features that may include profile discovery, messaging, matching, subscriptions and other paid enhancements.

Match Group serves users in markets around the world, with brands tailored to different audiences, relationship goals, age groups and geographic regions.