Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 351,789 Shares of Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) by 106.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 683,144 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 351,789 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.54% of Autohome worth $22,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Autohome in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake 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 valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Autohome by 93.9% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,397 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 2,614 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted 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 buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Autohome by 23.5% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.08% of the company’s stock.

Autohome Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ATHM opened at $28.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.76 and a 200 day moving average of $27.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.16. Autohome Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.89 and a 12 month high of $34.70.

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

Autohome declared that its board has authorized a share 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Autohome to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. CLSA cut Autohome from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark downgraded shares of Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Autohome in a report on Friday, July 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autohome presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

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.