Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on ATHM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Autohome in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Autohome from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Bank of America cut shares of Autohome from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. HSBC downgraded shares of Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.30 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Autohome from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $17.77.

Autohome Trading Down 1.7%

ATHM stock opened at $21.85 on Friday. Autohome has a 1-year low of $15.57 and a 1-year high of $29.92. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84 and a beta of 0.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.93 and its 200-day moving average is $19.41.

Autohome Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Autohome’s dividend payout ratio is presently 207.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Yan Zeng sold 24,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total value of $105,705.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 169,940 shares in the company, valued at $739,239. This represents a 12.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Bibo Xiang sold 10,508 shares of Autohome stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total transaction of $45,709.80. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 62,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $271,300.80. This represents a 14.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Autohome

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Autohome by 86.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Autohome by 12.2% in the 3rd 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Autohome in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,167,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of Autohome in the fourth quarter worth $10,937,000. Finally, M&G PLC boosted its stake in shares of Autohome by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. M&G PLC now owns 3,420,121 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,243,000 after buying an additional 413,287 shares during the last quarter. 63.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.