Short Interest in HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Drops By 19.4%

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in 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. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Institutional Trading of HSBC

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HSBC. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of HSBC by 124.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 171,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,820,000 after buying an additional 94,991 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HSBC in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $664,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of HSBC during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $701,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of HSBC by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 141,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,979,000 after purchasing an additional 15,510 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HSBC in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. 1.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HSBC Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of HSBC stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.51. The company had a trading volume of 145,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,515,374. The company has a market cap of $204.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51. HSBC has a fifty-two week low of $39.42 and a fifty-two week high of $61.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $55.94 and its 200-day moving average is $49.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.88.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.79 billion. HSBC had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 16.17%. On average, analysts anticipate that HSBC will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

HSBC Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised HSBC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays upgraded HSBC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.