StockNews.com Upgrades Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) to “Buy”

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, UBS Group upgraded Honda Motor from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Honda Motor Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of HMC stock opened at $27.69 on Wednesday. Honda Motor has a fifty-two week low of $23.41 and a fifty-two week high of $37.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.21 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.29.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $36.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.31 billion. Honda Motor had a return on equity of 7.53% and a net margin of 4.53%. Equities analysts expect that Honda Motor will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honda Motor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Honda Motor by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,345,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,273,000 after acquiring an additional 227,890 shares in the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of Honda Motor by 1.8% in the third quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,097,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,557,000 after acquiring an additional 36,221 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Honda Motor by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,594,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,517,000 after acquiring an additional 158,072 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Honda Motor by 52.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,355,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,021,000 after acquiring an additional 466,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Honda Motor by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,255,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,846,000 after acquiring an additional 81,548 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.32% of the company’s stock.

Honda Motor Company Profile

Honda Motor Co, Ltd. develops, manufactures, and distributes motorcycles, automobiles, power, and other products in Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Motorcycle Business, Automobile Business, Financial Services Business, and Power Product and Other Businesses.