Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) Short Interest Update

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,400,000 shares, an increase of 18.4% from the February 13th total of 4,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HAS. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $88.00) on shares of Hasbro in a report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Hasbro from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Hasbro from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Hasbro from $68.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.22.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hasbro by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,184,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,629,000 after purchasing an additional 8,270 shares in the last quarter. American Trust purchased a new position in Hasbro during the third quarter valued at approximately $634,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Hasbro by 972.6% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 29,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 26,337 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Hasbro by 33.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Hasbro by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares in the last quarter. 91.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hasbro Price Performance

Shares of HAS stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.15. 408,035 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,545,723. Hasbro has a 12 month low of $53.33 and a 12 month high of $73.46. The company has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.10. Hasbro had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 47.93%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hasbro will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hasbro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Hasbro’s payout ratio is presently 101.82%.

Hasbro Company Profile

Hasbro, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a toy and game company in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Australia, China, and Hong Kong. The company operates through Consumer Products; Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming; Entertainment; and Corporate and Other segments.