TJX Companies rallies on strong first-quarter earnings


TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) -- parent of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods, and other stores in which budget-conscious fashionistas scramble for bargains -- demonstrated that it is budget-minded as well today when it reported its latest quarterly earnings figures.

The company's first-quarter profit rose 8% on a year-over-year basis to $209.2 million, or 49 cents per share. Overall sales ticked up 1% to $4.35 billion, while same-store sales rose 2%. Earnings numbers were roughly on par with Street estimates, while sales were slightly ahead of the mark -- analysts were expecting per-share results of 49 cents on $4.32 billion in sales.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, TJX officials projected an earnings range of 43 cents to 49 cents per share, hitting analysts' target view of 43 cents per share. While the retail sector has certainly forged a rocky path in recent months, discount retailers such as TJX and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) have held their proverbial heads above water, as consumers seek out bargains and discounted alternatives.

At the closing bell, TJX had tacked on roughly 4% to encroach upon the $30 level. The stock has been in rally mode since early March, rising nearly 40% during the past two-plus months.

Beth Gaston Moon works for The Options News Network (www.ONN.tv), a media outlet focused on providing daily options commentary. The above comments are not intended as trading or investment advice.
Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-89.2312,801.23
NASDAQ-23.352,903.88
S&P 500-9.311,342.64

Last updated: February 13, 2012: 07:54 AM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

18.875-0.255(-1.33)

Alcoa

10.29-0.35(-3.29)

Apple Inc

493.42+0.25(+0.05)

Google Inc 'A'

605.91-5.55(-0.91)

Bank of America

8.07-0.11(-1.34)

Wal-Mart Stores

61.90-0.06(-0.10)

Exxon Mobil Corp

83.80-1.08(-1.27)

Ford

12.44-0.25(-1.97)

Citigroup

32.925-0.735(-2.18)

IBM

192.42-0.71(-0.37)

Yahoo

16.14+0.14(+0.88)

Starbucks

48.82-0.38(-0.77)

Microsoft

30.495-0.275(-0.89)

Home Depot

45.33+0.06(+0.13)

DailyFinance Headlines

Benzinga Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

BioHealth Investor Headlines

WalletPop Headlines

DailyFinance BlackBerry App

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance

BioHealth Investor Headlines

Page Loaded in 1329137698892 ms.