Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC)

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 5,171 call options on the company. This is an increase of 193% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,766 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HMC. StockNews.com upgraded Honda Motor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Honda Motor in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock.

Honda Motor Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE HMC opened at $29.79 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $28.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Honda Motor has a 12 month low of $23.41 and a 12 month high of $34.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.57.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.37. Honda Motor had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 4.76%. The business had revenue of $36.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Honda Motor will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Honda Motor

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Honda Motor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Honda Motor in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Honda Motor in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Honda Motor by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Honda Motor in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.32% of the company’s stock.

About Honda Motor

Honda Motor Co, Ltd. develops, manufactures, and distributes motorcycles, automobiles, power, and other products in Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Motorcycle Business, Automobile Business, Financial Services Business, and Power Product and Other Businesses.