HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company.

HSBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of HSBC in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of HSBC in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded HSBC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of HSBC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

HSBC Price Performance

Shares of HSBC opened at $48.20 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.61 and a 200-day moving average of $50.27. HSBC has a 1 year low of $39.42 and a 1 year high of $61.88. The company has a market capitalization of $171.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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

HSBC Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.94%. HSBC’s payout ratio is currently 115.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HSBC

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HSBC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in HSBC by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 215,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,750,000 after purchasing an additional 27,495 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of HSBC by 44.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,442,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,363,000 after buying an additional 749,759 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of HSBC by 383.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 93,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,233,000 after buying an additional 74,295 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of HSBC by 18.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 157,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,135,000 after acquiring an additional 24,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of HSBC by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 14,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during 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.