Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,400,000 shares, a growth of 18.4% from the February 13th total of 4,560,000 shares. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HAS shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $88.00) on shares of Hasbro in a research report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson raised their target price on Hasbro from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Hasbro from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on Hasbro from $68.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.22.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAS. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Hasbro in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Hasbro by 120.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 482 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Hasbro in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Hasbro in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in Hasbro in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 91.83% of the company’s stock.

Hasbro Stock Up 1.1 %

HAS stock opened at $60.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.51. Hasbro has a fifty-two week low of $53.91 and a fifty-two week high of $73.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.62 and a 200-day moving average of $63.85.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Hasbro had a return on equity of 47.93% and a net margin of 9.32%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hasbro will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hasbro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.62%. Hasbro’s payout ratio is 101.82%.

About Hasbro

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.