HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,950,000 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the September 15th total of 7,400,000 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

HSBC Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE HSBC traded up $0.27 on Wednesday, hitting $44.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 636,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,750,778. HSBC has a 52-week low of $35.30 and a 52-week high of $46.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.33. The firm has a market cap of $165.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.60, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.56.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter. HSBC had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 15.61%. The business had revenue of $16.54 billion during the quarter. Research analysts predict that HSBC will post 6.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HSBC Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HSBC

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Insight Folios Inc bought a new stake in HSBC in the first quarter worth $4,589,000. Stamos Capital Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of HSBC by 884.1% in the first quarter. Stamos Capital Partners L.P. now owns 125,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,958,000 after purchasing an additional 113,170 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. raised its stake in shares of HSBC by 285.8% in the first quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. now owns 112,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,431,000 after purchasing an additional 83,403 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of HSBC by 22.1% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 413,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,000,000 after purchasing an additional 74,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HSBC in the second quarter worth $2,590,000. 1.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.