4 Stocks That Are Real Sleepers in 2012

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Call it mattress madness, but the stocks of companies in the sleep-products industry, comprised of manufacturers and specialty retailers of mattresses, are among the biggest gainers this year.

The four companies in this niche have share-price gains ranging from 28% to 92% this year, versus the S&P 500's 9.6%.

The chief contributors to investors' positive views are that sales will grow as consumer confidence rebounds; that people buying new homes, or just moving, will buy new mattresses for their new residence; and, in a new wrinkle, new types of mattresses that promise an enhanced quality of sleep over that from old-fashioned, box-spring mattress, are gaining in popularity.

There has been particularly strong sales growth over the past quarter, according to industry trade group International Sleep Products Association, which reported that year-over-year unit sales rose 17.5% in February, 16.6% in January and 6.9% in December, after a relatively sleepy 2011 performance.

The new-home/new-mattress link is such a big sales driver for the industry that Goldman Sachs(GS) classifies mattress-makers as part of the building products industry.