Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 16,130,000 shares, an increase of 17.0% from the February 13th total of 13,790,000 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Mattel Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MAT traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.80. The company had a trading volume of 22,651,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,258,232. The business's 50-day moving average is $20.06 and its 200-day moving average is $19.26. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.65. Mattel has a 52 week low of $15.87 and a 52 week high of $22.07.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Mattel will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Remove Ads

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Mattel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Mattel from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mattel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mattel currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MAT. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Mattel by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,166 shares of the company's stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mattel by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,887 shares of the company's stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 8,679 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Mattel by 101.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 168,410 shares of the company's stock worth $3,208,000 after acquiring an additional 84,626 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mattel during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Mattel during the 3rd quarter worth about $591,000. 97.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.