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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MGA shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Magna International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Magna International from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Magna International from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Magna International from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Magna International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.03.

Magna International Stock Performance

Shares of MGA opened at $36.45 on Monday. Magna International has a 52 week low of $33.30 and a 52 week high of $56.12. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.18. The firm has a market capitalization 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $10.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.32 billion. Magna International had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 2.36%. Magna International’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Magna International will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Magna International Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Magna International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Magna International by 158.1% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,561,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,953 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Magna International by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,395,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,087,000 after purchasing an additional 822,375 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $63,280,000 after purchasing an additional 371,437 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. raised 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 purchasing an additional 172,754 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Magna International by 117,113.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 84,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,464,000 after buying an additional 84,322 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.49% of the company’s stock.

About Magna International

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.