Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Trading 5.6% Higher – Time to Buy?

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM)’s stock price shot up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $19.75 and last traded at $19.72. 139,693 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 705,122 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Autohome from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Autohome from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, HSBC cut Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.30 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $17.15.

Autohome Trading Up 6.9%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 0.23.

Autohome Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Autohome’s dividend payout ratio is currently 183.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Autohome

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 62,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,300.80. The trade was a 14.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 Autohome stock in a transaction 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 owned 169,940 shares in the company, valued at $739,239. This trade represents a 12.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATHM. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Autohome by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,968,365 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $227,497,000 after acquiring an additional 868,151 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its stake in Autohome by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,308,693 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $95,912,000 after acquiring an additional 20,228 shares during the period. M&G PLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 413,287 shares during the period. 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Autohome by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,682,506 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $59,713,000 after purchasing an additional 39,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.08% of the company’s stock.

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.