Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) Cut to “Neutral” at Citigroup

Citigroup downgraded shares of Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Citigroup currently has $18.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

VIPS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Vipshop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Vipshop from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vipshop presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.30.

Vipshop Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VIPS opened at $14.85 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.63. Vipshop has a 52 week low of $11.50 and a 52 week high of $17.94. The firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.53.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). Vipshop had a net margin of 7.50% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vipshop will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Vipshop Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Vipshop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vipshop

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vipshop by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,961,402 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $188,060,000 after acquiring an additional 79,254 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Vipshop by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 11,107,555 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $149,619,000 after purchasing an additional 139,320 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Vipshop by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,063,150 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $108,608,000 after purchasing an additional 993,042 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Vipshop by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,759,150 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,516,000 after buying an additional 1,718,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vipshop in the 4th quarter valued at $64,115,000. 48.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vipshop

Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers womenswear, menswear, sportswear and sporting goods, shoes and bags, accessories, baby and children products, skincare and cosmetics, home goods and other lifestyle products, and supermarket products.