HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $2.25

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of 2.25 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, April 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a 350.0% increase from HSBC’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

HSBC has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. HSBC has a dividend payout ratio of 28.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect HSBC to earn $7.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.98 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.8%.

HSBC Price Performance

Shares of HSBC stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $94.48. 2,724,174 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,290,156. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $324.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.52. HSBC has a 52-week low of $45.66 and a 52-week high of $94.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.24.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.25. HSBC had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 12.85%.The company had revenue of $17.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.01 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that HSBC will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on HSBC in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America upgraded HSBC from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

HSBC Company Profile

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HSBC) is a multinational banking and financial services organization headquartered in London. It traces its origins to the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, founded in 1865 to facilitate trade between Europe and Asia, and has since grown into one of the world’s largest banking groups. The company is publicly listed in multiple markets, including the London Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and as an American depositary receipt on the New York Stock Exchange.

HSBC operates a universal banking model, serving retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients.