Short Interest in Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) Grows By 17.0%

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 16,130,000 shares, a growth of 17.0% from the February 13th total of 13,790,000 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Mattel from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Mattel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mattel

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mattel in the 4th quarter valued at about $459,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Mattel during the 4th quarter valued at $3,966,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Mattel during the fourth quarter worth about $313,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mattel in the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mattel during the 4th quarter valued at $618,000. 97.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mattel Price Performance

Shares of Mattel stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $20.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 573,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,164,798. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.25. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Mattel has a 12-month low of $15.87 and a 12-month high of $22.07.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.15. Mattel had a return on equity of 25.94% and a net margin of 10.07%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mattel will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

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.