Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Rating Lowered to Hold at Benchmark

Benchmark lowered shares of Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Separately, Citigroup restated a neutral rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down from $31.00) on shares of Autohome in a research note on Friday, July 19th.

Autohome Price Performance

Autohome stock opened at $24.67 on Wednesday. Autohome has a 1-year low of $23.81 and a 1-year high of $34.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.32 and its 200 day moving average is $26.58.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The information services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Autohome had a net margin of 25.69% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The company had revenue of $222.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.23 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Autohome will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Autohome Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a yield of 6.1%. Autohome’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autohome

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Autohome by 99.4% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in shares of Autohome by 88.9% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Autohome by 24.2% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,676 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Autohome by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Autohome by 4.9% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,448 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 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.