HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Short Interest Update

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 9,650,000 shares, a growth of 36.7% from the February 13th total of 7,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

HSBC Trading Up 1.3 %

HSBC stock traded up $0.76 during trading on Monday, reaching $57.83. 2,285,453 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,638,614. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $54.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.87. HSBC has a 52-week low of $38.34 and a 52-week high of $61.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51.

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

HSBC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. HSBC’s payout ratio is 115.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HSBC. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in HSBC during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in HSBC by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in HSBC by 342.9% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HSBC during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of HSBC by 138.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on HSBC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised HSBC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised HSBC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HSBC currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.