Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,520,000 shares, a decrease of 17.0% from the March 15th total of 15,080,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MAT shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mattel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. DA Davidson upgraded Mattel to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Mattel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mattel presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mattel

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MAT. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mattel by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 46,174,919 shares of the company's stock worth $818,681,000 after purchasing an additional 5,984,400 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mattel by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,134,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $587,469,000 after acquiring an additional 355,769 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Mattel by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,843,505 shares of the company's stock worth $192,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491,282 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Mattel by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,673,295 shares of the company's stock worth $118,318,000 after purchasing an additional 453,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Mattel by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,390,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,847,000 after purchasing an additional 127,064 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.15% of the company's stock.

Mattel Stock Up 1.3 %

MAT stock opened at $14.83 on Friday. Mattel has a 1-year low of $13.95 and a 1-year high of $22.07. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $19.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.51.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.15. Mattel had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 25.94%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mattel will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Mattel Company Profile

Mattel, Inc, a toy and family entertainment company, designs, manufactures, and markets toys and consumer products in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through North America, International, and American Girl segments. It offers dolls and accessories, as well as books, content, gaming, and lifestyle products for children under the Barbie, American Girl, Disney Princess and Disney Frozen, Monster High, and Polly Pocket brands; die-cast vehicles, tracks, playsets, and accessories for kids, adults, and collectors under the Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels Monster Trucks, Hot Wheels Mario Kart, Matchbox, and Cars brand names; and infant, toddler, and preschool products comprising content, toys, live events, and other consumer products under the Fisher-Price, Little People and Imaginext, and Thomas & Friends, and Power wheels brands.

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