Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $26.48, but opened at $27.71. Honda Motor shares last traded at $27.75, with a volume of 451,863 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on HMC shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Honda Motor from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Honda Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of Honda Motor from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Honda Motor in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Honda Motor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Honda Motor has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $25.00.

Honda Motor Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $25.01 and its 200 day moving average is $27.99. The stock has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.62, a PEG ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 0.44.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($4.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($5.74) by $1.50. Honda Motor had a negative net margin of 1.75% and a negative return on equity of 3.07%. The firm had revenue of $36.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.99 billion. Honda Motor has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.278-1.278 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honda Motor

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HMC. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Honda Motor by 5,004.4% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 8,583,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,303,000 after acquiring an additional 8,414,952 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in Honda Motor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $136,637,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Honda Motor by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,200,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,369,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,245 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its holdings in Honda Motor by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 2,648,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,087,000 after acquiring an additional 590,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Honda Motor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,987,000. 5.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Honda Motor Company Profile

Honda Motor Co, Ltd. is a global manufacturer and mobility company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa. The company’s core businesses include the design, manufacture and sale of automobiles and motorcycles, along with a diverse portfolio of power products, engines and related components. Honda also operates in aviation through Honda Aircraft Company and offers financial services that support vehicle sales and leasing.

In automobiles, Honda is known for a range of passenger cars, crossovers and light trucks, and in motorcycles it is one of the world’s leading producers by volume and model breadth.