Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Hasbro from “Buy” to “Hold,” despite broader analyst sentiment remaining bullish: 12 analysts rate it Buy, three Hold, and one Sell, with a consensus price target of $109.07.
• Hasbro beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.28 EPS versus $1.16 expected and $1.14 billion in revenue, up 16.2% year over year.
• Insiders have sold $3.99 million worth of shares over the past three months, including sizable sales by the CFO and another insider, while institutional investors own 91.83% of the stock.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Hasbro from $117.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Hasbro from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Hasbro in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Hasbro from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Hasbro from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hasbro currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.07.

Hasbro Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HAS opened at $93.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.16, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $13.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $84.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.61. Hasbro has a one year low of $69.50 and a one year high of $106.98.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.12. Hasbro had a net margin of 15.97% and a return on equity of 141.11%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Hasbro's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hasbro will post 6.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hasbro

In related news, CFO Gina M. Goetter sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total value of $1,049,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,408,645.76. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Hight sold 3,186 shares of Hasbro stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.71, for a total value of $298,560.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 67,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,330,766.47. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 42,451 shares of company stock valued at $3,987,379 over the last three months. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hasbro

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hasbro by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,976,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,392,088,000 after purchasing an additional 453,038 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Hasbro by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,508,052 shares of the company's stock worth $480,424,000 after buying an additional 131,678 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hasbro by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,357,147 shares of the company's stock worth $357,286,000 after buying an additional 1,399,499 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hasbro by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,661,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,700,000 after acquiring an additional 122,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Hasbro by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,633,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,579,000 after acquiring an additional 651,790 shares in the last quarter. 91.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Hasbro

Here are the key news stories impacting Hasbro this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $109.07 versus recent trading levels. Twelve analysts rate Hasbro a Buy, compared with three Holds and one Sell. Hasbro receives Moderate Buy consensus
• Positive Sentiment: Wizards of the Coast unveiled new Dungeons & Dragons initiatives, including a World of Warcraft crossover launching in November, along with planned Dark Sun and Star Wars experiences. The announcements could strengthen Hasbro’s licensing, gaming and fan-engagement opportunities. Dungeons and Dragons announcements
• Positive Sentiment: Hasbro prevailed in a long-running copyright dispute involving Peppa Pig and Vietnam’s Wolfoo, protecting an important intellectual-property asset and potentially limiting unauthorized competition. Peppa Pig copyright case
• Positive Sentiment: New Transformers: Age of the Primes action figures provide additional product support for one of Hasbro’s major brands. Transformers action figures
• Neutral Sentiment: Hasbro declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70, or $2.80 annually, representing an approximately 3% yield. The dividend is payable September 2 to shareholders of record August 19.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling may weigh on sentiment: CFO Gina Goetter sold 11,000 shares for about $1.05 million, while John Hight sold 3,186 shares for roughly $299,000. Timothy J. Kilpin also sold 20,000 shares, although that transaction was reported as being to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. Hasbro insider sales

Hasbro Company Profile

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.

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