Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.00.

ATHM has been the subject of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Autohome to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Autohome to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, CLSA cut Autohome from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Autohome Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:ATHM opened at $26.98 on Friday. Autohome has a 12 month low of $21.89 and a 12 month high of $34.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.53. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.20.

Autohome Increases Dividend

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

Autohome announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Autohome

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Autohome by 4.9% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,448 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Autohome by 1.1% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 37,907 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Autohome in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Autohome by 23.5% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,098 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 1,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Autohome by 16.7% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,488 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 2,221 shares during the last quarter. 63.08% of the stock is currently 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.