Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Stock Passes Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) shares crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.04 and traded as high as $19.12. Autohome shares last traded at $19.0150, with a volume of 1,147,327 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Autohome from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Autohome from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC lowered shares of Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.30 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $17.15.

Autohome Trading Up 2.5%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.23.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last released its earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The information services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Autohome had a return on equity of 5.01% and a net margin of 17.91%.The company had revenue of $208.96 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Autohome Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autohome Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Autohome’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.59%.

Insider Transactions at Autohome

In other Autohome news, CTO Bibo Xiang sold 10,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total transaction of $45,709.80. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 62,368 shares in the company, valued at $271,300.80. This represents a 14.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Yan Zeng sold 24,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total transaction of $105,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 169,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $739,239. This represents a 12.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Autohome during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Autohome by 205.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Autohome by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,886 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Autohome by 141.7% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in shares of Autohome by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 3,271 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. 63.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Autohome

Autohome Inc (NYSE: ATHM) operates one of China’s leading online destinations for automobile consumers, offering a comprehensive suite of digital platforms and services throughout the vehicle ownership lifecycle. Headquartered in Beijing, the company’s core website and mobile applications deliver news, reviews, pricing information, photos, videos and interactive tools to help prospective buyers evaluate new and used vehicles. By aggregating rich editorial content with user-generated ratings and expert analyses, Autohome seeks to guide consumers through research, purchase and after-sales decision-making.

In addition to its consumer-facing properties, Autohome provides automakers, dealers and service providers with integrated digital marketing and e-commerce solutions.