Short Interest in HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) Expands By 64.6%

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 64.6% — short interest rose to 13,401,366 shares as of April 15 (up from 8,143,238 on March 31), equal to about 0.3% of shares and a short-interest ratio of 1.5 days.
• Major institutions have been increasing positions—GQG, Royal Bank of Canada, Schroder and JPMorgan all added shares and hedge funds now own 17.61% of the stock—while two insiders recently sold small stakes, leaving corporate insiders with roughly 1.0% ownership.
• The ADR traded around $25.73 (market cap ≈ $131.2B) and analyst coverage is mixed with an average rating of "Reduce" (one Hold, one Sell).

HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 13,401,366 shares, a growth of 64.6% from the March 31st total of 8,143,238 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 8,788,978 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at HDFC Bank

In related news, insider N Srinivasan sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.21, for a total transaction of $82,100.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 648,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,323,544.62. This represents a 1.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ashish Parthasarthy sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total transaction of $53,640.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 848,558 shares in the company, valued at $7,586,108.52. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HDFC Bank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in HDFC Bank by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 52,962,709 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,935,258,000 after purchasing an additional 777,977 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of HDFC Bank by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 39,897,767 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,457,865,000 after buying an additional 9,451,992 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of HDFC Bank by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 26,264,726 shares of the bank's stock valued at $959,713,000 after buying an additional 1,043,596 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of HDFC Bank by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,504,634 shares of the bank's stock valued at $749,239,000 after buying an additional 1,299,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of HDFC Bank by 106.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,884,943 shares of the bank's stock valued at $474,310,000 after buying an additional 7,147,440 shares during the last quarter. 17.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HDFC Bank Trading Up 0.3%

HDB traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $25.73. 3,599,544 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,767,817. The company has a market capitalization of $131.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.67. HDFC Bank has a 52-week low of $23.91 and a 52-week high of $39.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HDB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of HDFC Bank from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HDFC Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce".

About HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank Limited is one of India's leading private sector banks, headquartered in Mumbai. Incorporated in 1994 and promoted by Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), the bank provides a full range of banking and financial services to retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and corporate customers. It is publicly listed and also accessible to international investors through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HDB.

The bank's core activities include retail banking (deposit accounts, personal loans, home loans, auto loans, and credit cards), commercial and corporate banking (working capital finance, term lending, trade finance and treasury services), and transaction banking (cash management and payment solutions).

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