HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

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

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HSBC. Barclays raised HSBC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded HSBC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HSBC

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HSBC. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of HSBC by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,781,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,563,000 after acquiring an additional 951,050 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in HSBC by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,442,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,363,000 after purchasing an additional 749,759 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in HSBC in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,815,000. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of HSBC during the fourth quarter worth $11,914,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of HSBC by 135.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 347,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,191,000 after acquiring an additional 200,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.48% of the company’s stock.

HSBC Stock Performance

Shares of HSBC stock opened at $55.74 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $198.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51. 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 has a 52 week low of $37.38 and a 52 week high of $61.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.57.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $11.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.79 billion. HSBC had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 16.17%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that HSBC will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

HSBC Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.92%. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.