AQR Capital Management LLC Invests $22.50 Million in Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM)

AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 819,699 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,501,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Autohome during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Autohome by 99.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in Autohome by 88.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Autohome by 24.2% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,676 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Autohome by 93.9% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,397 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 2,614 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ATHM shares. Benchmark lowered shares of Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (down from $31.00) on shares of Autohome in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Autohome Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ATHM opened at $32.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.52. Autohome Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.89 and a 52-week high of $33.83.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $4.12. Autohome had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Autohome Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Autohome declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, September 4th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Autohome Profile

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.