Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,740,000 shares, a drop of 7.1% from the June 15th total of 5,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Hasbro

In other news, EVP Tarrant L. Sibley sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $783,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,193,960.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hasbro by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,752,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,041,879,000 after purchasing an additional 55,258 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Hasbro by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,381,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,367,000 after purchasing an additional 3,273,563 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in shares of Hasbro by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,188,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,801,000 after buying an additional 765,898 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Hasbro in the 1st quarter worth about $82,523,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hasbro by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,441,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,593,000 after purchasing an additional 300,420 shares during the last quarter. 91.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on HAS shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Hasbro from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Hasbro from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Hasbro in a research note on Monday, May 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hasbro from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Hasbro from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

Hasbro Price Performance

Shares of HAS traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $61.17. 134,560 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,770,230. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88. Hasbro has a fifty-two week low of $42.66 and a fifty-two week high of $73.57. The company has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $59.55 and its 200 day moving average is $55.44.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.34. Hasbro had a positive return on equity of 25.41% and a negative net margin of 29.60%. The firm had revenue of $757.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hasbro will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hasbro Company Profile

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.