Rubbermaid: Set to bounce?

Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL), which is trading near multi-year highs, has caught the attention of contrarian and technician Chris Johnson, money manager and editor of Insightful Investor.

In addition to its Rubbermaid brand, the consumer products firm makes consumer products under names such as Sharpie, Paper Mate, and Lenox.

The advisor is impressed with the stock's relative strength, noting that the shares are up 7.4% for 2007, while the S&P 500 is down slightly. As a contrarian, he notes, "Despite this strong performance, there is a healthy amount of negative sentiment toward the stock, according to a number of indicators."

One sign that the stock is out of favor notes Johnson is its put/call ratio, which he says indicates that the options crowd is extremely pessimistic. In adition, he notes that only 55% of Wall Street analysts who follow the stock rate it a buy. He notes, "That leaves plenty of room for upgrades to move the stock higher."

He expects the stock to continue outperforming the overall market and has added the issue to his portfolio. For those comfortable with the higher risks involved with options, he recommends the June 25 call – with a recent asking price of $6.40.

He explains, "This option provides a sufficient amount of both time and intrinsic value to help weather the market's current volatility. This should help to avoid being shaken out of the position due to the short-term volatility that it may incur."

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