Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms "Hold" Rating for HSBC (NYSE:HSBC)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has restated its "hold" rating for HSBC, while other analysts have varied views, with BNP Paribas upgrading it to a "strong-buy" and Zacks lowering it to "hold."
• HSBC's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.95, exceeding estimates, along with revenue of $16.90 billion.
• Institutional investors have increased their stakes in HSBC significantly, with Fisher Asset Management boosting its position by 9.2% in Q2.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas raised HSBC from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Monday, September 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane raised HSBC from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research lowered HSBC from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.00.

HSBC Trading Down 5.9%

Shares of NYSE HSBC opened at $67.31 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $66.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.16. HSBC has a 52-week low of $43.81 and a 52-week high of $72.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $16.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.64 billion. HSBC had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.48%. On average, analysts anticipate that HSBC will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HSBC

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of HSBC by 9.2% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,043,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,036,067,000 after buying an additional 1,430,797 shares during the period. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of HSBC by 425.4% in the first quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,265,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,687,000 after buying an additional 1,024,780 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of HSBC by 729.6% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 387,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,280,000 after buying an additional 341,187 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of HSBC by 160.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 502,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,529,000 after buying an additional 309,738 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of HSBC in the first quarter worth $17,430,000. 1.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About HSBC

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.

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