Wall Street Zen Downgrades HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB) to Sell

HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of HDFC Bank in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of HDFC Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

HDFC Bank Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE HDB opened at $36.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.52. HDFC Bank has a 52-week low of $28.89 and a 52-week high of $39.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57.

HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. HDFC Bank had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 14.94%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that HDFC Bank will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HDFC Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of HDFC Bank by 137.6% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 25,221,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $861,554,000 after purchasing an additional 14,606,422 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in HDFC Bank by 104.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,204,783 shares of the bank’s stock worth $656,035,000 after buying an additional 9,808,890 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in HDFC Bank by 9,866.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 7,944,403 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $271,381,000 after buying an additional 7,864,692 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HDFC Bank by 106.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,884,943 shares of the bank’s stock worth $474,310,000 after buying an additional 7,147,440 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of HDFC Bank by 150.1% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 11,601,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $396,312,000 after buying an additional 6,963,646 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.61% of the company’s stock.

HDFC Bank Company Profile

HDFC Bank Limited is one of India’s leading private sector banks, headquartered in Mumbai. Incorporated in 1994 and promoted by Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), the bank provides a full range of banking and financial services to retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and corporate customers. It is publicly listed and also accessible to international investors through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HDB.

The bank’s core activities include retail banking (deposit accounts, personal loans, home loans, auto loans, and credit cards), commercial and corporate banking (working capital finance, term lending, trade finance and treasury services), and transaction banking (cash management and payment solutions).