Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) Stock Short Interest Report for September

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 3,380,686 shares, an increase of 70.5% from the September 15th total of 1,983,252 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 922,210 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Honda Motor Trading Up 0.5%

HMC stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.24. The stock had a trading volume of 925,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,007,515. The firm has a market cap of $53.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.92 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Honda Motor has a 1-year low of $23.25 and a 1-year high of $34.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.50.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $37.27 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Honda Motor will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honda Motor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in Honda Motor by 5,004.4% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 8,583,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,303,000 after purchasing an additional 8,414,952 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in Honda Motor during the second quarter worth $109,593,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Honda Motor by 3.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,834,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,917,000 after buying an additional 99,301 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Honda Motor by 35.2% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,655,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,004,000 after buying an additional 691,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Honda Motor by 16.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,395,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,931,000 after buying an additional 197,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Honda Motor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Honda Motor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Honda Motor in a research report on Friday, September 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Honda Motor in a report on Monday, August 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

About Honda Motor

Honda Motor Co, Ltd. is a Japanese manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and power products. The company’s automotive lineup includes passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, light trucks and electric vehicles sold primarily under the Honda brand, as well as luxury vehicles marketed through its Acura brand in select markets.

Honda also develops and sells motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, generators, lawn and garden equipment, marine engines and other power products. Through Honda Aircraft Company, it produces HondaJet light business aircraft.