Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 51.1% in April to 3,057,511 shares (about 0.2% of shares sold short), leaving a short-interest ratio of 1.4 days based on average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is weak: MarketBeat's consensus is "Reduce" with a $25 target after multiple downgrades, and analyst ratings include 1 Strong Buy, 3 Hold and 3 Sell.
• Mixed recent results: Honda beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.76 vs. $0.52) but missed revenue ($29.99B vs. $33.34B), and analysts predict about -2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,057,511 shares, an increase of 51.1% from the March 31st total of 2,023,048 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,124,724 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Institutional Trading of Honda Motor

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HMC. WealthCollab LLC increased its stake in shares of Honda Motor by 66.2% in the second quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 916 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Honda Motor in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Honda Motor in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honda Motor in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honda Motor in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.32% of the company's stock.

Honda Motor Stock Up 0.1%

Honda Motor stock opened at $24.37 on Tuesday. Honda Motor has a 1-year low of $23.25 and a 1-year high of $34.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $26.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.24. Honda Motor had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 4.01%. The company had revenue of $29.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.34 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Honda Motor will post -2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HMC shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Honda Motor from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Honda Motor in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Honda Motor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Honda Motor from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Honda Motor from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Honda Motor has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Honda Motor Company Profile

Honda Motor Co, Ltd. is a global manufacturer and mobility company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa. The company's core businesses include the design, manufacture and sale of automobiles and motorcycles, along with a diverse portfolio of power products, engines and related components. Honda also operates in aviation through Honda Aircraft Company and offers financial services that support vehicle sales and leasing.

In automobiles, Honda is known for a range of passenger cars, crossovers and light trucks, and in motorcycles it is one of the world's leading producers by volume and model breadth.

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