Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,400,000 shares, an increase of 18.4% from the February 13th total of 4,560,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hasbro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Hasbro in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Hasbro in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Hasbro by 120.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 482 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Hasbro during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Hasbro in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 91.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Hasbro from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Hasbro from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $88.00) on shares of Hasbro in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Hasbro from $68.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.22.

Remove Ads

Hasbro Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HAS traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.57. 5,505,495 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,570,589. Hasbro has a 12 month low of $54.05 and a 12 month high of $73.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85. The firm has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.51.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Hasbro had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 47.93%. Research analysts expect that Hasbro will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hasbro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. Hasbro's dividend payout ratio is currently 101.82%.

Hasbro Company Profile

Hasbro, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a toy and game company in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Australia, China, and Hong Kong. The company operates through Consumer Products; Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming; Entertainment; and Corporate and Other segments.