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

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of 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. Based on an average daily volume of 3,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 4.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mattel

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAT. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Mattel by 13.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mattel by 42.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 8,679 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Mattel by 101.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Mattel during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Mattel in the 3rd quarter worth $591,000. 97.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mattel Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MAT traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,673,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,176,628. The company has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 2.00. Mattel has a one year low of $15.87 and a one year high of $22.07.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mattel will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 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. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Mattel from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.57.

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.