StockNews.com Upgrades Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) to "Buy"

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Mattel from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson upped their price target on Mattel from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mattel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mattel has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.57.

Mattel Stock Performance

Shares of MAT traded up $0.55 on Friday, reaching $21.85. 3,800,453 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,589,490. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $18.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.76. Mattel has a 12 month low of $15.87 and a 12 month high of $21.90.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 posted $0.29 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Mattel will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mattel

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MAT. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Mattel by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,797 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Mattel by 584.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,485 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Mattel by 42.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Mattel in the third quarter valued at about $2,137,000. Finally, Cumberland Advisors Inc. increased its position in Mattel by 4.3% in the third quarter. Cumberland Advisors Inc. now owns 96,800 shares of the company's stock worth $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. 97.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mattel

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.