Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Roth Capital set a $96.00 target price on shares of Hasbro and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Hasbro to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research cut Hasbro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Hasbro from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Hasbro from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hasbro presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.25.

Hasbro Price Performance

Shares of HAS opened at $86.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.35. Hasbro has a 52-week low of $49.00 and a 52-week high of $89.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.65, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of -21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.55.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.05. Hasbro had a negative net margin of 12.81% and a positive return on equity of 82.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Hasbro will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hasbro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. Hasbro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -69.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hasbro

In other news, Director Hope F. Cochran sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.24, for a total transaction of $308,960.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,320,958.48. This represents a 18.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hasbro

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Hasbro by 128.7% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,981,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677,962 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hasbro during the 2nd quarter worth about $123,710,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hasbro by 95.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,259,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,004 shares during the period. Mane Global Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Hasbro in the 2nd quarter valued at about $77,471,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in Hasbro in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,608,000. 91.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hasbro Company Profile

Hasbro, Inc is a global play and entertainment company, known for designing, manufacturing and marketing a diverse portfolio of toys, games and consumer products. Founded in 1923 as Hassenfeld Brothers and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the company has grown into one of the foremost names in the toy industry, with a presence in retail, digital and entertainment channels worldwide.

The company’s brand portfolio features iconic properties such as Monopoly, Play-Doh, Nerf, My Little Pony and Transformers.