HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Short Interest Update

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 9,650,000 shares, a growth of 36.7% from the February 13th total of 7,060,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HSBC

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HSBC. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of HSBC by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of HSBC by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HSBC in the third quarter valued at $263,000. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HSBC by 6.4% in the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HSBC by 12.8% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 39,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490 shares in the last quarter. 1.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on HSBC shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of HSBC in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded HSBC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised HSBC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

HSBC Price Performance

NYSE HSBC traded up $0.76 on Monday, reaching $57.83. 2,285,453 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,638,614. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $206.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51. HSBC has a 12 month low of $38.34 and a 12 month high of $61.88.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.04. The firm 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%. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.81%.

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.