Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) Plans $0.66 Special Dividend

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) declared a special dividend on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.66 per share by the information services provider on Friday, July 31st. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd.

Autohome has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years. Autohome has a dividend payout ratio of 90.7% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Research analysts expect Autohome to earn $1.30 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.75 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 134.6%.

Autohome Trading Up 5.9%

Shares of NYSE:ATHM traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $17.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,039,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 537,733. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.26. Autohome has a 52-week low of $15.57 and a 52-week high of $29.92.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The information services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $208.96 million for the quarter. Autohome had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 5.94%. Research analysts forecast that Autohome will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autohome

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATHM. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Autohome by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,852,839 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $63,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,281 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Autohome by 12.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,968,365 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $227,497,000 after purchasing an additional 868,151 shares during the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Autohome by 25.0% during the third quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 3,387,052 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $93,178,000 after purchasing an additional 678,214 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Autohome during the fourth quarter valued at about $14,167,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Autohome during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,937,000. 63.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Autohome

Autohome Inc (NYSE: ATHM) operates one of China’s leading online destinations for automobile consumers, offering a comprehensive suite of digital platforms and services throughout the vehicle ownership lifecycle. Headquartered in Beijing, the company’s core website and mobile applications deliver news, reviews, pricing information, photos, videos and interactive tools to help prospective buyers evaluate new and used vehicles. By aggregating rich editorial content with user-generated ratings and expert analyses, Autohome seeks to guide consumers through research, purchase and after-sales decision-making.

In addition to its consumer-facing properties, Autohome provides automakers, dealers and service providers with integrated digital marketing and e-commerce solutions.