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

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,520,000 shares, a decline of 17.0% from the March 15th total of 15,080,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Mattel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mattel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Mattel to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.57.

Mattel Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MAT traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.67. The stock had a trading volume of 272,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,560,969. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.91. Mattel has a twelve month low of $13.95 and a twelve month high of $22.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.51.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) last released its earnings results 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Mattel will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mattel

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAT. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mattel by 150.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Mattel by 9,775.0% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mattel during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Mattel by 52.9% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Mattel by 130.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,781 shares during the period. 97.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.