HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 2,499,269 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 54% from the previous session’s volume of 1,621,720 shares.The stock last traded at $59.96 and had previously closed at $61.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HSBC shares. Barclays upgraded shares of HSBC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HSBC has an average rating of “Hold”.

HSBC Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $212.04 billion, a PE ratio of 9.59, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $52.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.09.

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

HSBC Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in HSBC by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,883,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,605,000 after acquiring an additional 441,033 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of HSBC by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,781,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,563,000 after purchasing an additional 951,050 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HSBC by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 937,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,347,000 after purchasing an additional 40,388 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in HSBC by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 514,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,454,000 after buying an additional 14,095 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in HSBC by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 401,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,881,000 after buying an additional 85,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.48% of the company’s stock.

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.