Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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 days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.1 days. Approximately 6.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Magna International from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC decreased their price objective on Magna International from $44.00 to $36.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Magna International from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Magna International from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price objective on Magna International from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Magna International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.03.

Magna International Stock Performance

Shares of MGA stock traded up $0.97 on Friday, hitting $36.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,677,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,974. Magna International has a twelve month low of $33.30 and a twelve month high of $56.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $38.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.18.

Magna International (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $10.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.32 billion. Magna International had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 2.36%. Magna International’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Magna International will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Magna International Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ARGA Investment Management LP raised 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 period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised 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 period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Magna International by 32.2% in 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. Finally, Mufg Securities Canada LTD. raised its stake in Magna International by 72.1% in the 4th quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 412,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,228,000 after purchasing an additional 172,754 shares during the last quarter. 67.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.