HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised HSBC from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered HSBC from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded HSBC from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HSBC

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HSBC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of HSBC by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,726,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $271,438,000 after buying an additional 53,072 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in HSBC by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,883,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $142,605,000 after acquiring an additional 441,033 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in HSBC by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,873,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $165,002,000 after acquiring an additional 91,789 shares during the last quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. raised its stake in HSBC by 425.4% in the 1st quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,265,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,780 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in HSBC by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,047,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,155,000 after acquiring an additional 164,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.48% of the company's stock.

HSBC Price Performance

HSBC stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,189,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,733,462. HSBC has a 1 year low of $39.42 and a 1 year high of $61.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $208.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $55.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.76.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.60 billion. HSBC had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 12.20%. On average, equities analysts predict that HSBC will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

HSBC Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.495 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. HSBC's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.33%.

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.