HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $560.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HSBC. BNP Paribas downgraded HSBC from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HSBC

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HSBC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of HSBC by 14.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 79,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,725,000 after buying an additional 10,252 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in HSBC by 55.1% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 5,861 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in HSBC by 204.5% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 48,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 32,446 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its position in HSBC by 5.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 8,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its position in HSBC by 14.2% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,676,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,385,000 after purchasing an additional 208,393 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.48% of the company's stock.

HSBC Stock Up 0.4 %

HSBC traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.17. 1,930,684 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,255,979. HSBC has a one year low of $34.89 and a one year high of $42.47. The company's fifty day moving average price is $39.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.98. The company has a market cap of $156.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.33). HSBC had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 19.02%. The business had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that HSBC will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

HSBC Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from HSBC's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. HSBC's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.42%.

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.