Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) Short Interest Down 31.6% in August

Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,820,000 shares, a decrease of 31.6% from the August 15th total of 14,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.2 days. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Magna International from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Magna International from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Magna International from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Magna International from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Magna International from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.06.

Institutional Trading of Magna International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd grew its stake in shares of Magna International by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 7,148,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,543,000 after acquiring an additional 395,745 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Magna International by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,609,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,426,000 after purchasing an additional 30,361 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Magna International by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,102,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,118,000 after buying an additional 289,105 shares during the last quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Magna International by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 189,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,214,000 after buying an additional 53,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Magna International by 135.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 162,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,818,000 after buying an additional 93,637 shares in the last quarter. 67.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Magna International Stock Up 2.0 %

MGA stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.20. 1,247,224 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,624,007. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Magna International has a twelve month low of $38.01 and a twelve month high of $60.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.78 and its 200 day moving average is $46.05. The firm has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.59.

Magna International (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $10.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Magna International had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 2.29%. Magna International’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Magna International will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Magna International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. Magna International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.98%.

About Magna International

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.