Short Interest in Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) Grows By 12.2%

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,030,000 shares, a growth of 12.2% from the August 31st total of 1,810,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 507,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Autohome Price Performance

ATHM traded up $0.84 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.46. 695,385 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 483,305. Autohome has a 1 year low of $21.89 and a 1 year high of $33.83. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.15.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The information services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $4.12. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Autohome had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 25.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Autohome will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Autohome announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 4th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ATHM. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 target price (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Autohome in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Benchmark lowered shares of Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autohome

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&G Plc boosted its holdings in Autohome by 3.3% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 3,088,758 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $83,396,000 after buying an additional 97,994 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in shares of Autohome by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,311,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,007,000 after acquiring an additional 133,993 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Autohome by 146.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,059 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 18,446 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Autohome by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 249,984 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,862,000 after purchasing an additional 24,115 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd purchased a new position in Autohome during the second quarter worth approximately $2,497,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.08% of the company’s stock.

About Autohome

Autohome Inc operates as an online destination for automobile consumers in the People's Republic of China. The company delivers interactive content and tools to automobile consumers through its three websites, autohome.com.cn, che168.com, and ttpai.cn on PCs, mobile devices, mobile applications, and mini apps.