HDFC Bank Limited Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) experienced a notable rise in short interest during December. As of December 15th, the total short interest reached 18,950,000 shares, marking an increase of 9.2% from the previous total of 17,360,000 shares reported on November 30th. With an average daily trading volume of 2,770,000 shares, the current days-to-cover ratio stands at 6.8 days.

Institutional Investors Adjust Their Holdings

Multiple institutional investors have made changes to their positions in HDFC Bank. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings by 104.1% in the third quarter, now owning 498 shares valued at approximately $31,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC entered a new stake in HDFC Bank during this period, valued around $38,000. Meanwhile, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted their position by 70.2%, bringing their total to 667 shares worth $42,000 following an additional purchase of 275 shares. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC also made a new acquisition in HDFC Bank, valued at $65,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC enhanced its holdings by 34.6%, now owning 1,215 shares valued at about $76,000 after purchasing an extra 312 shares. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own approximately 17.61% of the company’s stock.

Recent Trading Activity of HDFC Bank

On Wednesday, HDFC Bank’s shares traded down by 0.4%, reaching $63.86. The trading volume for the day was 1,640,602 shares, which is lower than the average volume of 2,970,594 shares. The company's fifty-day moving average is $64.91, while the two-hundred-day moving average sits at $62.83. HDFC Bank has a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. In the past year, the stock has fluctuated between a low of $52.16 and a high of $68.50. The bank has a market capitalization of $161.71 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 19.41 and a PEG ratio of 1.79, while the beta stands at 0.92.

HDFC Bank last released its quarterly earnings results on October 19th, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.85 for the quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $0.76 by $0.09. The bank's revenue for the quarter was $9.21 billion, significantly higher than the anticipated $4.84 billion. HDFC Bank recorded a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 12.49%. Analysts collectively expect the bank to post an EPS of 3.15 for the current fiscal year.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

In a recent report, StockNews.com downgraded HDFC Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating on November 27th.

Understanding HDFC Bank

About HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank Limited offers a wide range of banking and financial services primarily in India, along with operations in Bahrain, Hong Kong, and Dubai. Its services are categorized into three main segments: Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking, and Treasury Services. The bank facilitates various accounts such as savings, salary, current, rural, public provident fund, pension, demat accounts, and provides options for fixed and recurring deposits and safe deposit lockers, in addition to offshore accounts and overdraft facilities against fixed deposits.

HDFC, Bank, Investment