AQR Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM)

AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 819,699 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,501,000. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.65% of Autohome as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Autohome by 4.9% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,448 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Autohome by 99.4% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in shares of Autohome by 88.9% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Autohome by 24.2% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,676 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 912 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Autohome in the second quarter worth $28,000. 63.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ATHM shares. Benchmark cut shares of Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Autohome in a report on Friday, July 19th.

Autohome Price Performance

Shares of ATHM opened at $32.67 on Tuesday. Autohome Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.89 and a 1-year high of $33.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.52. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.15.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $4.12. The company 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Autohome Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autohome announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.