Sterne Agee Lowers Estimates For Hasbro's Q1

Sterne Agee has published a research report on Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) and has lowered estimates on the company's first quarter after the announcement that only modest full year EPS growth is expected.

In the report, Sterne Agee writes "HAS reported Q4 results at $0.99 – above recently lowered projections following the pre-announcement that full-year EPS would grow “modestly” with lower sales for 2010. Q4 sales declined to $1.28 billion, compared to $1.38 billion, with full-year sales at $4.0 billion, down from $4.07 billion. Full-year EPS excluding a $0.15 favorable tax adjustment was $2.59, up from $2.48. HAS noted that soft U.S. demand for games in December led to the sales shortfall. The games segment in Q4 was down 22% with boys down 1.1% and gains in the smaller preschool (+3.9%) and girls' (+9.5%) segments. Only preschool grew in the U.S./Canada segment while all segments grew abroad. Mobile downloads of games in 2010 rose over 50% and the company will introduce a new branded gaming platform at Toy Fair. Dilution from The Hub was $0.30 at the upper end of the $0.25-$0.30 range provided by management."

Sterne Agee maintains its Buy rating and $56 price target.

Hasbro, Inc. closed yesterday at $45.63.