Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) Short Interest Down 17.0% in March

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,520,000 shares, a drop of 17.0% from the March 15th total of 15,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Mattel by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mattel by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 12,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Mattel by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 46,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Mattel by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mattel by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 119,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the period. 97.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mattel Stock Performance

Mattel stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.67. The company had a trading volume of 272,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,560,969. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.00 and its 200-day moving average is $18.91. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.51. Mattel has a 12-month low of $13.95 and a 12-month high of $22.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $0.29 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Mattel will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MAT shares. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Mattel to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com raised Mattel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mattel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.