HSBC (LON:HSBA) Upgraded to "Hold" at Shore Capital Group

Key Points

• Shore Capital upgraded HSBC to a "Hold" and raised its target to GBX 1,250 (from GBX 1,210), a level that still implies about a 6.03% downside from the current share price.
• Analyst views are mixed but lean neutral: the consensus rating is Hold with a consensus price target of GBX 1,271.13, while brokers including Citigroup and JPMorgan recently raised targets (Citigroup to GBX 1,320; JPM to GBX 1,360) and most other firms maintain Hold/Neutral opinions.
• There has been notable insider selling—insiders disposed of 242,798 shares worth about $308.4M over the last 90 days—and the stock traded at GBX 1,330.20 on unusually heavy volume (254.8M vs. an average of 27.8M).

HSBC (LON:HSBA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Shore Capital Group to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday,London Stock Exchange reports. The brokerage presently has a GBX 1,250 target price on the financial services provider's stock, up from their prior target price of GBX 1,210. Shore Capital Group's target price points to a potential downside of 6.03% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on HSBA. HSBC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a GBX 1,450 price objective on shares of HSBC in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a GBX 1,419 price objective on shares of HSBC in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price target on HSBC from GBX 1,240 to GBX 1,320 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on HSBC from GBX 1,190 to GBX 1,360 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a GBX 1,120 price target on shares of HSBC in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of GBX 1,271.13.

HSBC Stock Performance

Shares of HSBA traded down GBX 13.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting GBX 1,330.20. 254,818,781 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,822,891. The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 1,281.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 1,198.31. HSBC has a 52-week low of GBX 835.30 and a 52-week high of GBX 1,410.60. The company has a market cap of £228.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 1.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Pam Kaur sold 81,967 shares of HSBC stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 1,280, for a total transaction of £1,049,177.60. Also, insider Georges Elhedery sold 94,749 shares of HSBC stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,280, for a total value of £1,212,787.20. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 242,798 shares of company stock worth $308,402,488. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

HSBC Company Profile

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