HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HSBC has an average rating of “Hold”.

HSBC Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HSBC opened at $61.56 on Monday. HSBC has a 1 year low of $36.93 and a 1 year high of $61.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.09.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.04. HSBC had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $11.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.79 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that HSBC will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HSBC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.81%.

Institutional Trading of HSBC

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of HSBC by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,883,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,605,000 after acquiring an additional 441,033 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of HSBC by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,781,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,563,000 after acquiring an additional 951,050 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of HSBC by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 937,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,347,000 after acquiring an additional 40,388 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of HSBC by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 514,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,454,000 after acquiring an additional 14,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of HSBC by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 401,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,881,000 after acquiring an additional 85,104 shares during the last quarter. 1.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HSBC

HSBC Holdings plc provides banking and financial services worldwide. The company operates through Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The Wealth and Personal Banking segment offers retail banking and wealth products, including current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans, credit and debit cards, and local and international payment services; and wealth management services comprising insurance and investment products, global asset management services, investment management, and private wealth solutions.