Short Interest in Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) Rises By 57.4%

Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,460,000 shares, a growth of 57.4% from the January 31st total of 6,010,000 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Magna International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Magna International by 2,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Magna International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in Magna International by 2,126.5% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 757 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Magna International in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Magna International by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 67.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MGA. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Magna International from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities cut their price target on Magna International from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Magna International from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Magna International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $41.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Magna International from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Magna International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.88.

Magna International Stock Performance

Shares of MGA stock traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.43. 1,931,905 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,780,264. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.52. The company has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.61. Magna International has a 1 year low of $35.05 and a 1 year high of $56.12.

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

Magna International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This is a boost from Magna International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.33%. Magna International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.27%.

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.