Toymaker Hasbro Inc. (HAS), first discussed on June 22, 2009, at a price of $24.30, continues to meander near $46, but I still like the shares at this stage. Here's why:

Hasbro's revenue likely will increase about 3% to 4% in 2011 as toy sales accelerate from 2010's likely modest 2% to 2.5% rise. The frugal consumer era in the United States continues, but new product introductions and adequate performance by established brands (Playskool, Nerf) will satisfy investors for now.

A motion picture tie-in (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, to be released in July) provides further encouragement for investors.

Shares of toy maker Hasbro Inc. (HAS) rose in early morning trading after the toy maker posted better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter before the market opened.

Going into the earnings report, analysts had been expecting to see Hasbro report earnings of $0.92 per share, but actual earnings came in at $0.99. Earnings were down though from $1.09 during the same period last year.

Things look to be pretty quiet on the economic calendar this week. Here are the highlights:

• Tuesday: Weekly chain-store sales
• Wednesday: Federal budget balance for January
• Thursday: Wholesale trade data in December
• Friday: Trade balance in December and the weekly inflation survey

However, three iconic companies -- Walt Disney (DIS), Coca-Cola (KO) and Hasbro (HAS) -- highlight this week's quarterly results. Here's a look at what analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating from these and others.

Let's take a quick look at two companies that reported earnings earlier in the week. One is a favorite of chocolate lovers while the other is all fun and games.

We'll start with the sweeter of the two, Hershey (HSY), which posted its release on Wednesday. The Associated Press indicates that fourth-quarter adjusted income of 61 cents per share only equaled what the analysts were looking for. If you're a shareholder, you probably were disappointed. After all, you always want a beat. If the bottom line didn't go beyond the forecast, there's always the top line, right?

Analyst Upgrades

• Dominion (D) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Corinthian Colleges (COCO) to outperform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• Canadian National (CNI) to sector outperformer from sector performer at CIBC.
• DragonWave (DRWI) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Infosys (INFY) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• SL Green Realty (SLG), Lexington Realty (LXP) and Taubman Centers (TCO) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Sunstone Hotel (SHO) to buy from neutral and Extra Space Storage (EXR) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

Toymaker Hasbro Inc. (HAS), was first discussed on June 22, 2009, at a price of $24.30. This autumn it tested major psychological resistance at $50, before pulling back, but I still like the shares at this juncture. Here's why:

Look for Hasbro's revenue to rise about 4% to 6% in 2011, as toy sales accelerate from 2010's likely modest 2% to 2.5% rise. The frugal consumer era in the United States continues, but new product introductions, and adequate performance by established brand (Playskool, Nerf), will satisfy investors, for now.

Two stocks come to mind when thinking about Christmas: Hasbro (HAS) and Mattel (MAT). Last year around this time, I discussed Hasbro. This year, I thought I'd take a brief look at Mattel.

The owner of the iconic Barbie industry has been trading in a relatively tight range over the past twelve months. The 52-week low is $19.07, and the 52-week high is $26.70. The shares closed down 1.3% on Thursday to settle at a quote of $25.88. (Hasbro likewise faced selling pressure on that day, losing over 2%.) The chart shows some rocky sideways action, followed by an uptrend.

I first discussed Hasbro Inc. (HAS) on June 22, 2009, at a price of $24.30. The toymaker has broken though resistance at $40 and powered higher, and obviously I still like the shares.

Look for Hasbro's revenue to rise 2% to 3% in 2010, as toy sales eek out a small gain from 2009's level, as the "frugal consumer" era in the United States continues. Hasbro's positives in 2010? Product diversity, strength in the Nerf brand, and royalties from its Electronic Arts (ERTS) agreement.

On Friday, Mattel (MAT) sold off after reporting its latest quarterly results. Today, that company's major enemy in the business, Hasbro (HAS), finds itself on the receiving end of a bearish onslaught. The selling seen this session, however, isn't as bad as what occurred last week, when Mattel dropped a couple bucks. Still, it could be disappointing to shareholders.

Hasbro is down 1.3% in afternoon trading at the time of this writing. Not too bad, but the stock, which is exchanging hands around the $39 mark, has pulled back from the 52-week high of $43.71, a level that was achieved just last month.