JAKKS Pacific loses expectations game, but is it still reasonably priced?

Toymaker JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK) lost the expectations game earlier this week, my friend. Wall Street was looking for more in terms of earnings per share than the company was apparently able to deliver. Was JAKKS playing around too much these last three months? Who knows -- this business can certainly be fickle, after all.

For the first quarter, JAKKS saw its revenues increase over 5% to nearly $131 million. Earnings per diluted share came in at $0.03 if you take into account litigation expenses, restructuring charges, etc. On an adjusted basis, JAKKS earned $0.13 per share, compared to a year-ago adjusted earnings of $0.14 per share. According to Briefing.com, this was $0.06 less than what the Street wanted.

JAKKS, which competes with Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and Mattel (NYSE: MAT), didn't have a great quarter, it's true. But I've always found this company and stock to be an interesting one, as it seems to do well over time with its various licensed products, such as merchandise based on some Disney (NYSE: DIS) brands, including Hannah Montana, and toys based on Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Nickelodeon channel.

Whenever the stock is on a pullback, it always catches my attention (although, I should point out, I have never owned it). In addition, the balance sheet appears to be in good shape: there's a nice amount of cash and cash equivalents at $238 million, long-term debt has remained stable, and the accounts receivable line is down.

JAKKS is still forecasting $2.91 per diluted share for the current fiscal year. Given the share price as of this writing, the P/E ratio on the stock remains compelling.

Disclosure: I own shares of Disney; positions can change at any time.