Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) Short Interest Down 10.1% in December

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,700,000 shares, a decline of 10.1% from the November 30th total of 1,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 520,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Autohome Stock Performance

NYSE ATHM traded down $0.22 on Wednesday, hitting $25.95. 675,749 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 484,279. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.39. Autohome has a 12 month low of $21.89 and a 12 month high of $34.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.20.

Autohome Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a yield of 5.8%. This is a positive change from Autohome’s previous Variable dividend of $0.57. Autohome’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

Autohome announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 4th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autohome

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Autohome during the 2nd quarter valued at $22,501,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Autohome by 14.7% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,440,462 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $121,859,000 after buying an additional 568,474 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Autohome by 106.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 683,144 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,284,000 after buying an additional 351,789 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC boosted its position in shares of Autohome by 9.6% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 3,384,865 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $111,701,000 after acquiring an additional 296,107 shares during the period. Finally, Krane Funds Advisors LLC grew its stake in Autohome by 10.7% during the second quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 2,816,972 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $77,326,000 after acquiring an additional 272,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ATHM. StockNews.com lowered Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Autohome to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. CLSA cut Autohome from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Autohome to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

About Autohome

Autohome Inc operates as an online destination for automobile consumers in the People’s Republic of China. The company delivers interactive content and tools to automobile consumers through its three websites, autohome.com.cn, che168.com, and ttpai.cn on PCs, mobile devices, mobile applications, and mini apps.