Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) Short Interest Update

Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,980,000 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the November 30th total of 8,160,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Magna International Price Performance

Shares of MGA stock opened at $42.16 on Monday. Magna International has a fifty-two week low of $38.01 and a fifty-two week high of $59.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.37.

Magna International (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $10.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.34 billion. Magna International had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 2.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Magna International will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Magna International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. Magna International’s payout ratio is presently 50.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MGA shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Magna International from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Magna International from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded Magna International from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Magna International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Magna International from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Magna International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.65.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ARGA Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Magna International during the third quarter worth $40,710,000. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Magna International by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 7,148,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,543,000 after buying an additional 395,745 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Magna International by 616.1% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 132,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,560,000 after acquiring an additional 114,160 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Magna International by 135.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 162,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,818,000 after acquiring an additional 93,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Magna International by 117,113.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 84,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,464,000 after acquiring an additional 84,322 shares during the period. 67.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.