BUY - rate is expected to increase, i.e. the first currency gains value against the second currency.
SELL - rate is expected to go down, i.e. the first currency is expected to lose value against the second currency.
Based in the UK, HSBC is a true global financial behemoth. It maintains some 4,400 offices all over the world, in developed countries as well as emerging market economies.
It offers a wide range of financial services, including retail banking, wealth management, global private banking, commercial banking, etc.
It is certainly interesting from the perspective of stock value, to take a closer look at the largest shareholders of the organization.
Several major investment companies have found HSBC stock interesting.
Fisher Asset Management LLC is the top shareholder. Its HSBC shares are worth some $719 million. Still, the 15.3 million shares held by Fisher only amount to some 0.38% of the total outstanding shares of HSBC.
Fisher have some $77 billion under management.
In possession of about 0.12% of all HSBC shares, Northern Trust is the second largest shareholder of the company. The mentioned 0.12% amounts to some 4.5 million shares. Northern Trust manages $1.1 trillion in assets, so it is indeed a true investment heavyweight.
Cambiar Investors LLC’s stake in HSBC amounts to some 4.56 million shares. These are currently worth around $214 million, making up 0.11% of the total outstanding HSBC shares.
Above and beyond the trust these major investment companies have in HSBC, their large stakes in the operation lend it added strength. Indeed, thus far HSBC has successfully avoided activist investing integration.
Besides the above mentioned behemoths, HSBC has hundreds of thousands of lower-profile shareholders. In fact, there are around 200,000 HSBC shareholding entities in no fewer than 130 different countries all over the world.
The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange, as well as on the New York Stock Exchange and the Paris Euronext.
HSBC stock is a dividend-paying stock. The first interim dividend for 2019 was USD 0.10 per ordinary share. The company made the official announcement concerning the dividend on May 3.
The bank runs a scrip dividend scheme. Through this setup, HSBC has made it possible for its shareholders to receive additional ordinary shares instead of dividend payments. Shares thusly issued are the equivalents of ordinary shares in every respect.
So is HSBC stock a buy now or not?
While some do not see it as a buy right now, there are investors out there who view HSBC stock as a good income investment.
Some reasons why this may indeed be the case are:
– HSBC is a truly global operation with great exposure to Asia.
– The bank has successfully shaped its business model over the last few years, achieving good capitalization and decent profitability.
– The dividend yield offered by the company is 5.4%. It may not be an outstanding number, but it certainly makes a good and relatively stable income investment.
– HSBC’s valuation is very attractive at this point.
The bottom line
Though affected by unfavorable market conditions over the last few years, HSBC maintained strong cost discipline. This helped it continue to log decent profits despite the adverse market conditions. HSBC’s operating momentum has been steadily improving since 2017.
BUY - rate is expected to increase, i.e. the first currency gains value against the second currency.
SELL - rate is expected to go down, i.e. the first currency is expected to lose value against the second currency.