Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

ATHM has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Autohome to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised Autohome to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, CLSA downgraded shares of Autohome from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Autohome Price Performance

ATHM stock opened at $26.19 on Friday. Autohome has a 1 year low of $21.89 and a 1 year high of $34.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.38.

Autohome Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 boost 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autohome

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Autohome by 78.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 154,988 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 67,957 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Autohome by 7.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,448 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,342,000 after buying an additional 2,857 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Autohome by 16.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,488 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 2,221 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Autohome by 3.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 413,932 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,395,000 after buying an additional 13,944 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Autohome during the third quarter valued at $6,663,000. 63.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Autohome

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.