Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Trading 3.8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM)’s share price traded up 3.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $26.14 and last traded at $25.97. 65,093 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 481,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATHM has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Autohome to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. CLSA lowered shares of Autohome from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Autohome to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autohome presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.00.

Autohome Stock Down 0.8 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $27.58 and a 200-day moving average of $27.39. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.20.

Autohome Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Autohome’s previous Variable dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 5.8%. Autohome’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Autohome declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 4th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autohome

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Autohome in the second quarter valued at approximately $22,501,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Autohome by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,440,462 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $121,859,000 after acquiring an additional 568,474 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Autohome by 106.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 683,144 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,284,000 after acquiring an additional 351,789 shares during the period. M&G PLC increased its holdings in Autohome by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 3,384,865 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $111,701,000 after acquiring an additional 296,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Krane Funds Advisors LLC raised its stake in Autohome by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 2,816,972 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $77,326,000 after acquiring an additional 272,092 shares during the period. 63.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Autohome Company 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.