Zacks Research Upgrades Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) to “Strong-Buy”

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on HMC. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Honda Motor from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Honda Motor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Honda Motor Stock Performance

Shares of Honda Motor stock opened at $31.98 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.40. The company has a market cap of $49.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.69 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.29. Honda Motor has a one year low of $23.25 and a one year high of $34.89.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Honda Motor had a negative return on equity of 1.30% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The company had revenue of $37.27 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Honda Motor will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Honda Motor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in Honda Motor during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $109,593,000. Focused Alpha LLC grew its stake in Honda Motor by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Focused Alpha LLC now owns 9,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Honda Motor by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,655,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,004,000 after purchasing an additional 691,165 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Honda Motor by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Honda Motor during the 2nd quarter worth about $223,000. 5.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Honda Motor

Honda Motor Co, Ltd. is a global manufacturer and mobility company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa. The company’s core businesses include the design, manufacture and sale of automobiles and motorcycles, along with a diverse portfolio of power products, engines and related components. Honda also operates in aviation through Honda Aircraft Company and offers financial services that support vehicle sales and leasing.

In automobiles, Honda is known for a range of passenger cars, crossovers and light trucks, and in motorcycles it is one of the world’s leading producers by volume and model breadth.