Even Transformers can’t lift Hasbro

Hasbro shares plunged nearly 10 percent after the toymaker posted a sales figure that beat estimates by the smallest amount in the last six quarters. The firm’s “franchise” brands, including Nerf and Transformers, were boosted by the June 21 releaserel of “Transformers: The Last Knight,” and led quarterly results with a 21 percent revenue gain.

Morningstar analyst Jaime Katz said the division’s performance was impressive given the current “Transformers” has a US gross of only $128 million — barely half of the $245 million in domestic receipts for the franchise’s 2014 release.

The No. 2 US toymaker rolled out merchandise and toys like Autobots, Decepticons and others based on the film’s main characters such as Megatron and Bumblebee in February, ahead of the film’s release in June.

Still, sales for Hasbro’s li- censed and gaming segments were basically flat during the quarter. Elsewhere, demand for Playskool, Super Soaker and EasyBake Ovens aimed at younger kids tanked 14 percent.

Hasbro shares tumbled 9.4 percent, yet their closing price of $105 still represented a 35 percent gain for the year, with shares trading more than 20 times Morningstar’s full-year earnings-per-share estimate for the Pawtucket, RI, company.

Second-quarter revenue of $972.5 million — hurt by challenging retail markets in the UK and Brazil — just eclipsed the analysts’ consensus of $972.4 million.

EPS exceeded expectations by a wider margin, coming in at 53 cents; estimates were for 46 cents.

CFO Deb Thomas noted during an earnings call that some sales usually booked in the second quarter won’t materialize until later this year.

“Given the timing of entertainment this year, the rapid growth of e-commerce and our global retailers’ focus on just-in-time inventory, our expectation for quarterly revenue is a shift to later in the year,” she said.

Whether a robust second half will enable Hasbro to maintain its premium remains to be seen.

Katz advised investors seeking exposure to the toy business to consider industry leader Mattel.

Its stock is trading at a 25 percent discount to what Katz considers “fair value,” while Hasbro closed 12 percent higher than the analyst’s target price for that stock.