S&P Puts Hasbro on Downgrade Watch

Standard & Poor's announced it has placed Hasbro's BBB+ rating on its watch list for a potential downgrade. The ratings agency indicated concern with the toy company's recent operating performance and its increased leverage.

S&P said in its announcement that it expects that the latter "increased to about 2.3x in 2012 from 2.2x in 2011." As a result, it continued, "we believe Hasbro's ability to drive leverage under our 2x threshold appears less likely over the intermediate term."

Last week, the toy maker released preliminary 2012 results that showed declines in both revenue and net profit. The firm also said it will reduce its workforce by roughly 10%.

The article S&P Puts Hasbro on Downgrade Watch originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Eric Volkman has no position in Hasbro. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Hasbro. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.