HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Short Interest Update

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,400,000 shares, a decline of 6.1% from the August 31st total of 7,880,000 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days.

Institutional Trading of HSBC

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HSBC. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in HSBC during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HSBC in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HSBC in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of HSBC by 126.1% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in HSBC in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Dbs Bank upgraded HSBC to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HSBC currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

HSBC Stock Performance

NYSE:HSBC opened at $44.60 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.95. HSBC has a fifty-two week low of $35.30 and a fifty-two week high of $46.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.89.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $16.54 billion during the quarter. HSBC had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 15.61%. As a group, research analysts forecast that HSBC will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HSBC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.14%.

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.