Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) Stock

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $22.00 to $23.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.33% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Mattel from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Mattel in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mattel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Mattel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.57.

Mattel Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MAT opened at $21.43 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.76. Mattel has a 12 month low of $15.87 and a 12 month high of $21.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $18.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.84.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.15. Mattel had a return on equity of 25.39% and a net margin of 10.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mattel will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mattel

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Mattel by 198.8% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 57,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,092,000 after buying an additional 38,134 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Mattel by 13.2% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 88,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Mattel by 38.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Mattel by 584.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Mattel by 42.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.15% of the company’s stock.

About Mattel

Mattel, Inc, a toy and family entertainment company, designs, manufactures, and markets toys and consumer products in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through North America, International, and American Girl segments. It offers dolls and accessories, as well as books, content, gaming, and lifestyle products for children under the Barbie, American Girl, Disney Princess and Disney Frozen, Monster High, and Polly Pocket brands; die-cast vehicles, tracks, playsets, and accessories for kids, adults, and collectors under the Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels Monster Trucks, Hot Wheels Mario Kart, Matchbox, and Cars brand names; and infant, toddler, and preschool products comprising content, toys, live events, and other consumer products under the Fisher-Price, Little People and Imaginext, and Thomas & Friends, and Power wheels brands.