Citigroup Maintains Buy, $33 Target on Mattel

Citigroup reiterates its Buy rating and $33 target price on Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT) as the company posts a solid beat on 4Q11 EPS.

Citigroup comments, "MAT reported EPS of $1.07 vs. FC of $1.01. Sales were $2.15bn vs. FC of $2.21bn. US gross sales were -2% and int'l gross sales were +5% (FX hurt by 3%) in 4Q. Solid sales performance at core brands, Cars 2, other evergreen entertainment incl Disney Princess and Monster High drove results. GM rose 230bps YOY driven by pricing, cost cutting, FX (80bps positive impact), and royalties, offset in part by higher input costs. We estimate share repos positively benefitted EPS by 1c, though acquisition costs negatively impacted EPS by 2c."

MAT closed at $29.53 a share on Monday.