Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on HAS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Hasbro from $88.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Hasbro from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hasbro from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hasbro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Hasbro from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hasbro has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.64.

Hasbro Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ HAS opened at $86.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -52.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.52. Hasbro has a 52-week low of $64.85 and a 52-week high of $106.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.59.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $969.20 million. Hasbro had a negative net margin of 4.62% and a positive return on equity of 174.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Hasbro will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Hasbro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Hasbro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -168.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Hasbro in the fourth quarter valued at about $147,748,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Hasbro by 128.7% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,981,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677,962 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hasbro by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,357,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,399,499 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Hasbro by 454.3% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 727,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,085,000 after purchasing an additional 596,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hasbro in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,671,000. 91.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hasbro

Hasbro, Inc is a global play and entertainment company, known for designing, manufacturing and marketing a diverse portfolio of toys, games and consumer products. Founded in 1923 as Hassenfeld Brothers and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the company has grown into one of the foremost names in the toy industry, with a presence in retail, digital and entertainment channels worldwide.

The company’s brand portfolio features iconic properties such as Monopoly, Play-Doh, Nerf, My Little Pony and Transformers.