Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.00.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Honda Motor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Honda Motor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Honda Motor in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Honda Motor in a report on Friday, September 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock.

Honda Motor Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:HMC opened at $33.42 on Thursday. Honda Motor has a one year low of $23.25 and a one year high of $33.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $52.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.75 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.39.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter. Honda Motor had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a negative return on equity of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $37.27 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Honda Motor will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Honda Motor

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HMC. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Honda Motor during the second quarter worth $109,593,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Honda Motor by 35.2% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,655,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,004,000 after buying an additional 691,165 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Honda Motor by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,834,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,917,000 after acquiring an additional 99,301 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Honda Motor by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,302,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,869,000 after acquiring an additional 27,965 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Honda Motor by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,395,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,931,000 after acquiring an additional 197,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.32% of the company’s stock.

About Honda Motor

Honda Motor Co, Ltd. is a Japanese manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and power products. The company’s automotive lineup includes passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, light trucks and electric vehicles sold primarily under the Honda brand, as well as luxury vehicles marketed through its Acura brand in select markets.

Honda also develops and sells motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, generators, lawn and garden equipment, marine engines and other power products. Through Honda Aircraft Company, it produces HondaJet light business aircraft.