HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on HDB. Zacks Research raised HDFC Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of HDFC Bank in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HDFC Bank has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

HDFC Bank Trading Down 6.3%

HDFC Bank stock opened at $34.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.49. HDFC Bank has a 1-year low of $28.89 and a 1-year high of $39.81.

HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.08. HDFC Bank had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The company had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that HDFC Bank will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HDB. Miller Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HDFC Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $1,143,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its position in HDFC Bank by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 40,652 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after buying an additional 4,636 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in HDFC Bank by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,139 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its holdings in HDFC Bank by 1,651.3% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 169,616 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,794,000 after buying an additional 159,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Global Investments LLC raised its position in HDFC Bank by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westwood Global Investments LLC now owns 786,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,882,000 after acquiring an additional 393,475 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.61% of the company’s stock.

HDFC Bank Company Profile

HDFC Bank Limited is one of India’s leading private sector banks, headquartered in Mumbai. Incorporated in 1994 and promoted by Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), the bank provides a full range of banking and financial services to retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and corporate customers. It is publicly listed and also accessible to international investors through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HDB.

The bank’s core activities include retail banking (deposit accounts, personal loans, home loans, auto loans, and credit cards), commercial and corporate banking (working capital finance, term lending, trade finance and treasury services), and transaction banking (cash management and payment solutions).