HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $95.22 and last traded at $94.7470, with a volume of 249132 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $93.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded HSBC from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research cut HSBC from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Thursday, May 14th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of HSBC from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of HSBC in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.00.

HSBC Stock Up 0.8%

The stock has a market cap of $324.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $87.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter. HSBC had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 16.06%.The company had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that HSBC Holdings plc will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HSBC Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. HSBC’s payout ratio is currently 32.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HSBC

In related news, insider Daniel Scott Palomaki sold 23,123 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.11, for a total value of $418,757.53. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,973 shares in the company, valued at $90,061.03. This trade represents a 82.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of HSBC by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,483,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,757,000 after acquiring an additional 993,473 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in HSBC by 1,272.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 909,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,548,000 after acquiring an additional 843,186 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in HSBC by 77.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,443,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,577,000 after purchasing an additional 627,857 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in HSBC by 391.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 524,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,235,000 after purchasing an additional 417,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of HSBC by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,800,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,400,385,000 after purchasing an additional 402,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.48% of the company’s stock.

About HSBC

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HSBC) is a multinational banking and financial services organization headquartered in London. It traces its origins to the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, founded in 1865 to facilitate trade between Europe and Asia, and has since grown into one of the world’s largest banking groups. The company is publicly listed in multiple markets, including the London Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and as an American depositary receipt on the New York Stock Exchange.

HSBC operates a universal banking model, serving retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients.