Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC)

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 5,171 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 193% compared to the typical volume of 1,766 call options.

Honda Motor Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Honda Motor stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.22. 910,178 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,076,176. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.11. Honda Motor has a twelve month low of $23.41 and a twelve month high of $34.99. The stock has a market cap of $47.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $36.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.31 billion. Honda Motor had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 7.81%. Equities research analysts predict that Honda Motor will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honda Motor

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in Honda Motor by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 39,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Honda Motor by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,643 shares of the company's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Honda Motor by 8.4% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 1,631 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Honda Motor by 460.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Honda Motor by 9.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 54,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 4,865 shares during the period. 5.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HMC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Honda Motor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Honda Motor in a report on Monday, April 14th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company.

Honda Motor Company Profile

Honda Motor Co, Ltd. develops, manufactures, and distributes motorcycles, automobiles, power, and other products in Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Motorcycle Business, Automobile Business, Financial Services Business, and Power Product and Other Businesses.