HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HSBC shares. Zacks Research upgraded HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas raised shares of HSBC from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of HSBC from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th.

HSBC Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE HSBC opened at $72.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. HSBC has a 1-year low of $45.48 and a 1-year high of $74.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.07. The company has a market capitalization of $250.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.64.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.15. HSBC had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 12.85%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.78 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that HSBC will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HSBC Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from HSBC’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio is 41.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning boosted its stake in HSBC by 0.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 314,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,315,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HSBC by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 455,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,302,000 after acquiring an additional 117,038 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of HSBC by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Qtron Investments LLC increased its stake in HSBC by 25.5% in the third quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 38,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,725,000 after acquiring an additional 7,802 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in HSBC by 8.5% during the third quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 17,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the period. 1.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HSBC Company Profile

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.