Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,810,000 shares, a decrease of 7.7% from the August 15th total of 1,960,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 528,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ATHM shares. StockNews.com upgraded Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down from $31.00) on shares of Autohome in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th.

Institutional Trading of Autohome

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Autohome by 4.9% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,448 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Autohome by 99.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in Autohome by 88.9% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Autohome by 24.2% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,676 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Autohome in the second quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.08% of the company’s stock.

Autohome Price Performance

Shares of ATHM stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.39. 317,924 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 468,162. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.31. Autohome has a 1-year low of $21.89 and a 1-year high of $30.92.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $4.12. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Autohome had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 25.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Autohome will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autohome declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 4th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Autohome Company Profile

Autohome Inc operates as an online destination for automobile consumers in the People's Republic of China. The company delivers interactive content and tools to automobile consumers through its three websites, autohome.com.cn, che168.com, and ttpai.cn on PCs, mobile devices, mobile applications, and mini apps.