HSBC Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HSBC)

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 4,988 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 263% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,376 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HSBC

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSBC. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HSBC during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of HSBC by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 43,317 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 16,516 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HSBC by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 20,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $999,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HSBC by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 5,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in HSBC by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 58,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares in the last quarter. 1.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on HSBC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded HSBC from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded HSBC from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded HSBC from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HSBC presently has an average rating of "Hold".

HSBC Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSBC traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.56. The company had a trading volume of 3,605,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,617,792. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $52.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.09. HSBC has a 12 month low of $36.93 and a 12 month high of $61.88. The firm has a market cap of $219.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $11.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.79 billion. HSBC had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 12.20%. As a group, analysts predict that HSBC will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HSBC Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.70%. HSBC's dividend payout ratio is 115.81%.

HSBC Company Profile

HSBC Holdings plc provides banking and financial services worldwide. The company operates through Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The Wealth and Personal Banking segment offers retail banking and wealth products, including current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans, credit and debit cards, and local and international payment services; and wealth management services comprising insurance and investment products, global asset management services, investment management, and private wealth solutions.