Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.15.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ATHM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Autohome from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. HSBC lowered Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.30 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Autohome from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th.

Autohome Price Performance

NYSE:ATHM opened at $18.19 on Friday. Autohome has a 12 month low of $15.57 and a 12 month high of $29.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $18.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.69.

Autohome Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Autohome’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Autohome

In other Autohome news, CTO Bibo Xiang sold 10,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total value of $45,709.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 62,368 shares in the company, valued at $271,300.80. This represents a 14.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Yan Zeng sold 24,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $739,239. The trade was a 12.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 5.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Autohome

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Autohome by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,968,365 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $227,497,000 after buying an additional 868,151 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Autohome by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,308,693 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $95,912,000 after buying an additional 20,228 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Autohome by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. M&G PLC now owns 3,420,121 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $75,243,000 after acquiring an additional 413,287 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,326,281 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Autohome by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,682,506 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $59,713,000 after acquiring an additional 39,969 shares during the last quarter. 63.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Autohome Company Profile

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.