Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) Receives $17.15 Average PT from Analysts

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.15.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ATHM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Autohome from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. HSBC lowered shares of Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.30 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Autohome from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th.

Autohome Stock Performance

ATHM opened at $18.66 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.23. Autohome has a 52-week low of $15.57 and a 52-week high of $29.92.

Autohome Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Autohome’s payout ratio is currently 183.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Yan Zeng sold 24,300 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 169,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,239. This represents a 12.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Bibo Xiang sold 10,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total transaction of $45,709.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 62,368 shares in the company, valued at $271,300.80. This trade represents a 14.42% decrease in their position. 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. 5.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autohome

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Autohome by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 418,500 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,316,000 after acquiring an additional 104,800 shares during the period. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA purchased a new position in Autohome during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,837,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Autohome by 7.3% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,304,270 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,237,000 after purchasing an additional 89,057 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Autohome in the first quarter worth $1,014,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Autohome by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,682,506 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $59,713,000 after purchasing an additional 39,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.08% of the company’s stock.

Autohome Company Profile

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.