Mattel Inc. (MAT): Today's Featured Consumer Durables Laggard

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

Mattel ( MAT) pushed the Consumer Durables industry lower today making it today's featured Consumer Durables laggard. The industry as a whole closed the day down 0.2%. By the end of trading, Mattel fell 89 cents (-2.3%) to $37.15 on heavy volume. Throughout the day, 4.4 million shares of Mattel exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 2.1 million shares. The stock ranged in price between $37.05-$38.12 after having opened the day at $38.11 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $38.04. Other companies within the Consumer Durables industry that declined today were: Select Comfort Corporation ( SCSS), down 17.9%, Global-Tech Advanced Innovations ( GAI), down 15%, Appliance Recycling Centers ( ARCI), down 5.6%, and Leapfrog ( LF), down 4.2%.
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Mattel, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets various toy products. Its products comprise fashion dolls and accessories, vehicles and play sets, and games and puzzles. Mattel has a market cap of $13.03 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 15.8, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 4.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday. Currently there are seven analysts that rate Mattel a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and two rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Mattel as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, expanding profit margins, solid stock price performance and impressive record of earnings per share growth. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity.

For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the consumer durables industry could consider Consumer Discretionary Sel Sec SPDR ( XLY) while those bearish on the consumer durables industry could consider ProShares Ultra Sht Consumer Goods ( SZK).

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