HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Short Interest Update

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,780,000 shares, a decrease of 19.4% from the February 28th total of 9,650,000 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

HSBC Stock Down 1.0 %

HSBC opened at $57.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $205.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.80. HSBC has a twelve month low of $39.04 and a twelve month high of $61.88.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $11.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.79 billion. HSBC had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 16.17%. Equities research analysts anticipate that HSBC will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HSBC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HSBC

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in HSBC by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,781,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,563,000 after buying an additional 951,050 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of HSBC by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 937,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,347,000 after buying an additional 40,388 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of HSBC by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 514,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,454,000 after acquiring an additional 14,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 85,104 shares during the last quarter. 1.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of HSBC in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of HSBC in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised HSBC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded HSBC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.