Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) Stock Short Interest Jumps 70.5%

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of 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 company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 922,210 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Institutional Trading of Honda Motor

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Plan A Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Honda Motor by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 24,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Honda Motor by 9.4% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in Honda Motor by 38.2% in the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Honda Motor by 17.4% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Financial Group lifted its position in Honda Motor by 8.1% during the third quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 8,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. 5.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Honda Motor Stock Performance

Shares of HMC traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $34.08. 480,260 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,452,736. Honda Motor has a 52 week low of $23.25 and a 52 week high of $34.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.39. The firm has a market cap of $53.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.66 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $37.27 billion during the quarter. Honda Motor had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a negative return on equity of 1.30%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Honda Motor will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Honda Motor in a report on Friday, September 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Honda Motor in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Honda Motor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Honda Motor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.