Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) Short Interest Up 67.3% in February

Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 15,830,000 shares, an increase of 67.3% from the February 13th total of 9,460,000 shares. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MGA has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Magna International from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Magna International from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Magna International from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Magna International from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Magna International from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Magna International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.03.

Magna International Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of MGA traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,677,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,683,280. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Magna International has a 52 week low of $33.30 and a 52 week high of $56.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.98 and a 200 day moving average of $41.24. The company has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Magna International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Magna International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.32%. Magna International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Magna International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Magna International by 158.1% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,561,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,049,000 after buying an additional 1,568,953 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Magna International by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,395,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,087,000 after buying an additional 822,375 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Magna International by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,627,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,810,000 after buying an additional 18,704 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Magna International by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,523,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,280,000 after buying an additional 371,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Canada LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Magna International by 72.1% during the 4th quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 412,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,228,000 after buying an additional 172,754 shares during the last quarter. 67.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.