Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $58.14, but opened at $63.50. Hasbro shares last traded at $64.96, with a volume of 1,774,788 shares traded.

The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $757.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.84 million. Hasbro had a positive return on equity of 16.34% and a negative net margin of 29.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 earnings per share.

Hasbro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. Hasbro’s dividend payout ratio is -26.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Hasbro from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on Hasbro from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Hasbro from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. TheStreet downgraded Hasbro from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Hasbro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hasbro

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hasbro by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,752,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,879,000 after buying an additional 55,258 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Hasbro by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,381,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,367,000 after purchasing an additional 3,273,563 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hasbro by 76.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,281,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,517 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hasbro by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,188,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,801,000 after purchasing an additional 765,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia boosted its holdings in shares of Hasbro by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 2,225,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,188,000 after purchasing an additional 21,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.83% of the company’s stock.

Hasbro Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.14. The stock has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Hasbro Company Profile

Hasbro, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a toy and game company in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Australia, China, and Hong Kong. The company operates through Consumer Products; Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming; Entertainment; and Corporate and Other segments.