Zacks Research Upgrades Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) to “Strong-Buy”

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Honda Motor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Honda Motor from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Honda Motor Price Performance

NYSE:HMC opened at $31.98 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $49.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.69 and a beta of 0.42. Honda Motor has a 12 month low of $23.25 and a 12 month high of $34.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.58 and its 200 day moving average is $27.40.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Honda Motor had a negative net margin of 0.73% and a negative return on equity of 1.30%. The company had revenue of $37.27 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Honda Motor will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honda Motor

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HMC. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Honda Motor in the 2nd quarter worth $109,593,000. Focused Alpha LLC increased its position in Honda Motor by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Focused Alpha LLC now owns 9,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 1,568 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Honda Motor by 35.2% in 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. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Honda Motor by 23.1% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Honda Motor in the second quarter worth about $223,000. Institutional investors own 5.32% of the company’s stock.

About Honda Motor

Honda Motor Co, Ltd. is a global manufacturer and mobility company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa. The company’s core businesses include the design, manufacture and sale of automobiles and motorcycles, along with a diverse portfolio of power products, engines and related components. Honda also operates in aviation through Honda Aircraft Company and offers financial services that support vehicle sales and leasing.

In automobiles, Honda is known for a range of passenger cars, crossovers and light trucks, and in motorcycles it is one of the world’s leading producers by volume and model breadth.