HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank lowered HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of HSBC from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of HSBC in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of HSBC from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

HSBC Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of HSBC opened at $103.23 on Thursday. HSBC has a twelve month low of $60.61 and a twelve month high of $103.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $354.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.17.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $19.12 billion during the quarter. HSBC had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 16.06%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that HSBC will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

HSBC Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.46%.

Insider Activity at HSBC

In other news, insider Daniel Scott Palomaki sold 23,123 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.11, for a total value of $418,757.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,061.03. This represents a 82.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HSBC

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HSBC. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of HSBC by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in HSBC by 1.3% in the first quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich boosted its stake in HSBC by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 12,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. grew its holdings in HSBC by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 18,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its position in shares of HSBC by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 2,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 1.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HSBC

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HSBC) is a multinational banking and financial services organization headquartered in London. It traces its origins to the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, founded in 1865 to facilitate trade between Europe and Asia, and has since grown into one of the world’s largest banking groups. The company is publicly listed in multiple markets, including the London Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and as an American depositary receipt on the New York Stock Exchange.

HSBC operates a universal banking model, serving retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients.