Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) Rating Lowered to "Strong Sell" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Honda Motor (NYSE: HMC) from a "hold" to a "strong sell" in a report released Monday.
• Analyst coverage is mixed — 1 Strong Buy, 5 Hold and 2 Sell — leaving a MarketBeat average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.00.
• Shares are trading near the 52‑week low (opened $23.51, 52‑week low $23.25) with a market cap of ~$36.7B and a low valuation (P/E 9.37); last quarter Honda beat EPS estimates ($0.76 vs. $0.52) but missed revenue expectations ($29.99B vs. $33.34B).

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

HMC has been the topic of several other research reports. Nomura raised Honda Motor to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered Honda Motor from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Honda Motor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Honda Motor in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Honda Motor in a report on Thursday, February 12th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Honda Motor currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Honda Motor Stock Performance

NYSE:HMC opened at $23.51 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.67. The company has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Honda Motor has a 52 week low of $23.25 and a 52 week high of $34.89.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $29.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.34 billion. Honda Motor had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 4.01%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Honda Motor will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honda Motor

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Honda Motor by 2.0% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,572,505 shares of the company's stock worth $325,633,000 after buying an additional 205,016 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Honda Motor by 5,004.4% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 8,583,102 shares of the company's stock worth $25,303,000 after buying an additional 8,414,952 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Honda Motor during the third quarter worth about $136,637,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Honda Motor by 34.8% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,200,280 shares of the company's stock worth $129,369,000 after buying an additional 1,083,245 shares during the period. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Honda Motor by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 2,648,828 shares of the company's stock worth $78,087,000 after buying an additional 590,128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.32% of the company's stock.

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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