CLSA Lowers Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) to Hold

CLSA lowered shares of Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) from an outperform rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on ATHM. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Autohome in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Autohome to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Benchmark downgraded Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Autohome has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.00.

Autohome Trading Up 0.3 %

ATHM stock opened at $28.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.16. Autohome has a 1 year low of $21.89 and a 1 year high of $34.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.26.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $4.12. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Autohome had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 25.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Autohome will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autohome declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autohome

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its holdings in Autohome by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 4,695,298 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $123,111,000 after acquiring an additional 42,817 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Autohome by 14.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 568,474 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc lifted its position in Autohome by 3.3% in the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 3,088,758 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $83,396,000 after purchasing an additional 97,994 shares during the period. Krane Funds Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $77,326,000 after buying an additional 272,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Autohome by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,333,350 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $61,180,000 after buying an additional 53,441 shares during the period. 63.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.