Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Hasbro from $117.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Hasbro from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hasbro from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Hasbro in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Hasbro from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.93.

Hasbro Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of HAS opened at $119.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.36. Hasbro has a one year low of $74.78 and a one year high of $121.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.45.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $1.04. Hasbro had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 140.60%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Hasbro will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Hasbro

In other Hasbro news, insider Holly Barbacovi sold 5,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.20, for a total transaction of $476,369.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 37,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,531,181.20. This trade represents a 11.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Hamren sold 1,975 shares of Hasbro stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.84, for a total transaction of $183,359.00. Following the sale, the director owned 9,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $918,744.64. This represents a 16.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 8,021 shares of company stock worth $749,154 in the last ninety days. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hasbro in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,204,689,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Hasbro during the 2nd quarter valued at about $289,258,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Hasbro in the 2nd quarter valued at about $130,731,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Hasbro in the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,467,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Hasbro during the second quarter worth about $66,071,000. 91.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hasbro

Hasbro, Inc is a global branded entertainment company that develops and markets toys, games, entertainment experiences and consumer products. Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Monopoly, Play-Doh, Transformers, Nerf, My Little Pony, Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.

The company serves consumers through a range of channels, including retail, e-commerce, digital gaming, entertainment content and licensing. Hasbro also works with third-party partners to extend its brands into film and television, apparel, publishing and other consumer products.