Diamonds and Dogs

11/13/17

Revenge of the toys. Mattel (MAT ) is up 19% on rumors Hasbro (HAS) will make an offer for their largest rival. Hasbro (HAS) is up 7% as investors like the idea of a tie-up between the Barbie and Hot Wheels maker with the owner of the Nerf and Monopoly brands. The Chapter 11 filing from Toy R Us this summer did not help Mattel or the toy industry, but 2018 is looking brighter and with the onslaught of Amazon, a tie-up of the two largest toy manufactures makes sense.  

General Electric (GE) still going in the wrong direction.  The new CEO and Chairman, John Flannery cut the dividend in half and lowered guidance for 2018. The company sees full year 2018 adjusted earnings of $1 to $1.107 a share, well below the $1.18 that Wall Street is expecting. With the reduced guidance, GE stock trades for 20 times earnings with no growth. Looks like GE may have a long road ahead of them.