Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) Short Interest Down 14.5% in December

Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in 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 stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MGA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities lowered their price target on Magna International from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Magna International from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Magna International from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Magna International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $41.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Magna International from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Magna International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.65.

Magna International Stock Performance

NYSE:MGA opened at $42.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.14. Magna International has a fifty-two week low of $38.01 and a fifty-two week high of $59.86. The company has a market cap 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $43.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.38.

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

Magna International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Magna International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Magna International by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Magna International by 84.4% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Sienna Gestion lifted its stake in shares of Magna International by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 6,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Magna International by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Magna International during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.49% of the company’s stock.

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.