Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) Short Interest Down 53.3% in March

Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,400,000 shares, a decrease of 53.3% from the February 28th total of 15,830,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Magna International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $42.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Magna International from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Magna International from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut shares of Magna International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Magna International from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Magna International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.03.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Magna International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Magna International by 2,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Magna International by 2,126.5% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Magna International during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Magna International by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Magna International by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. 67.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Magna International Price Performance

Shares of MGA traded down $0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,654,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,720,084. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.03 and a 200 day moving average of $40.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.65. Magna International has a 12 month low of $33.30 and a 12 month high of $54.36.

Magna International (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.23. Magna International had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 2.36%. The business had revenue of $10.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Magna International will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Magna International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.71%. This is a boost from Magna International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Magna International’s payout ratio is 55.27%.

Magna International Company Profile

Magna International Inc designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. It operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles.