Short Interest in HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) Expands By 28.1%

HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 19,210,000 shares, a growth of 28.1% from the February 13th total of 15,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.5 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on HDB. StockNews.com downgraded HDFC Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Nomura upgraded HDFC Bank from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Nomura Securities upgraded HDFC Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HDFC Bank

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of HDFC Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $2,046,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of HDFC Bank by 112.2% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 713,228 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,547,000 after acquiring an additional 377,141 shares during the last quarter. BIP Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HDFC Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HDFC Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of HDFC Bank by 1,777.4% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 88,405 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,646,000 after acquiring an additional 83,696 shares during the last quarter. 17.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HDFC Bank Stock Up 1.7 %

HDFC Bank stock traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $61.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,243,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,497,185. The company has a market cap of $156.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.42. HDFC Bank has a 52 week low of $54.07 and a 52 week high of $68.50.

HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.08. HDFC Bank had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 12.19%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that HDFC Bank will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

About HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank Limited provides banking and financial services to individuals and businesses in India, Bahrain, Hong Kong, and Dubai. The company operates in three segments: Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking, and Treasury Services. It accepts savings, salary, current, rural, public provident fund, pension, and demat accounts; fixed and recurring deposits; and safe deposit lockers, as well as offshore accounts and deposits, and overdrafts against fixed deposits.