Wall Street Zen Upgrades HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded HDFC Bank from “Sell” to “Hold,” joining a mixed analyst outlook. MarketBeat’s consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $26.10.
• HDFC Bank shares opened at $22.05, near their 52-week low of $21.70 and below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The stock has a market capitalization of approximately $113.17 billion.
• The bank exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.42 EPS versus the $0.40 consensus and revenue of $8.20 billion compared with estimates of $4.95 billion. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.61% of the company.

HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on HDB. Zacks Research upgraded shares of HDFC Bank from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. HSBC lowered shares of HDFC Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $30.80 to $26.10 in a research report on Monday, August 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on HDFC Bank in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of HDFC Bank from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.10.

HDFC Bank Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of HDB stock opened at $22.05 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.85 and a 200 day moving average of $24.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.61. HDFC Bank has a 52 week low of $21.70 and a 52 week high of $37.35.

HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. HDFC Bank had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 11.70%. The company had revenue of $8.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.95 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that HDFC Bank will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HDFC Bank

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in HDFC Bank during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in HDFC Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in shares of HDFC Bank by 215.5% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,868 shares of the bank's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in HDFC Bank during the first quarter worth $102,000. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in HDFC Bank by 32.9% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 9,147 shares of the bank's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265 shares during the period. 17.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank Limited is an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, India. Established in 1994, the bank provides services to individuals, businesses, corporations and institutions through a broad network of physical branches, ATMs and digital banking channels.

Its principal offerings include savings and current accounts, deposits, personal and home loans, vehicle and consumer financing, business and commercial lending, credit and debit cards, payments, investment and wealth-management services, and foreign-exchange and treasury products.

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