Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,794,788 shares, a growth of 9.6% from the July 14th total of 27,191,561 shares. Approximately 8.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 8,786,556 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.
In other Mattel news, CEO Mary Margaret Hasti Georgiadis acquired 12,660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.61 per share, for a total transaction of $248,262.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 116,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,290,212.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. National Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mattel during the second quarter worth approximately $213,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Mattel by 635.8% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 577,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,439,000 after buying an additional 499,220 shares during the period. Highlander Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mattel during the second quarter worth approximately $105,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mattel by 4.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 27,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Finally, Fairpointe Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mattel by 24.3% in the second quarter. Fairpointe Capital LLC now owns 7,993,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,099,000 after buying an additional 1,560,624 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.56% of the company’s stock.
Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS AG restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Mattel in a research note on Saturday, April 22nd. MKM Partners cut their target price on Mattel from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. BidaskClub cut Mattel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Mattel in a research note on Sunday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC restated a “hold” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down previously from $19.00) on shares of Mattel in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.65.
Shares of Mattel (MAT) opened at 17.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09 and a beta of 0.84. Mattel has a 52 week low of $17.21 and a 52 week high of $33.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.97.
Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $974.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $972.36 million. Mattel had a net margin of 4.51% and a return on equity of 11.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.02) EPS. Analysts expect that Mattel will post $0.80 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Mattel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 220.29%.
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Mattel Company Profile
Mattel, Inc manufactures and markets a range of toy products around the world. The Company’s segments are North America; International, and American Girl. Its portfolio of brands and products are grouped into approximately four major brand categories, including Mattel Girls & Boys Brands, Fisher-Price Brands, American Girl Brands and Construction and Arts & Crafts Brands.
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