HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company.

HSBC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised shares of HSBC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of HSBC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Thursday, March 6th.

HSBC Price Performance

Shares of HSBC opened at $57.08 on Monday. HSBC has a fifty-two week low of $38.34 and a fifty-two week high of $61.88. The company has a market capitalization of $203.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.88.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $11.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.79 billion. HSBC had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 12.20%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HSBC will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.61%. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.