StockNews.com Upgrades Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) to Buy

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Autohome from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $36.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

Autohome Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATHM opened at $24.75 on Tuesday. Autohome has a 1 year low of $21.89 and a 1 year high of $34.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 0.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.80 and a 200 day moving average of $27.50.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The information services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $244.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.26 million. Autohome had a net margin of 23.02% and a return on equity of 7.79%. Research analysts expect that Autohome will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autohome

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Autohome by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,761 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Autohome by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,399 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Autohome by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 126,612 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Autohome by 1.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 71,083 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Autohome by 11.4% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 13,435 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 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.