Short Interest in HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Expands By 36.7%

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of HSBC by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of HSBC by 11.9% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HSBC in the third quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of HSBC by 6.4% during the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in HSBC by 12.8% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 39,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,788,000 after buying an additional 4,490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSBC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of HSBC in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of HSBC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays raised shares of HSBC from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

HSBC Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:HSBC traded up $1.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.08. 3,599,342 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,645,185. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51. HSBC has a fifty-two week low of $38.34 and a fifty-two week high of $61.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

HSBC Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. HSBC’s payout ratio is 115.81%.

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.