Continue reading Costco (COST) reports weak November sales

Costco (COST) reports weak November sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Costco to start accepting food stamps at all U.S. locations

Costco to start accepting food stamps at all U.S. locations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the wake of COST's report, analyst Brian Sozzi of Wall Street Strategies reiterated his Buy rating and $66 price target on the equity. "In our view, 4Q09 will go a long way in supporting a higher valuation for Costco," wrote Sozzi in a research note this morning. "The company has managed to control costs, drive traffic to its warehouses consistently throughout the economic downturn, paid $300 million in annual dividends in FY09 (payout ratio of 26.0% second to only Wal-Mart in the sector), and has catalysts on the horizon to showcase earnings power above currently modeled for consensus EPS."

Continue reading Costco Wholesale surges after topping 4Q expectations

Costco Wholesale surges after topping 4Q expectations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Costco Wholesale (COST) stumbles on Q3 earnings

Costco Wholesale (COST) stumbles on Q3 earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 May 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"I've always been a big fan of putting into the market on a regular basis regardless of what is happening in the overall market," explains Chuck Carlson, long considered one of the advisory industry's leading experts on dividend reinvestment plans.

Here, the editor of The DRIP Investor offers a 10-stock "autopilot" portfolio that is diversified among 10 high quality dividend-paying stocks and requiring a monthly investment of under $500.

Carlson says, "If I've learned anything in the more than a quarter of a century of following the markets, it is this fact - buying stocks when you know you should (i.e. during sharp down moves) is really difficult. Our heads says we should; after all, substantial market downturns create the best values.

"But our emotions usually take control, thus making it very difficult to pull the trigger and put money into the market when stocks are falling.

"That's why I've always been a big fan of 401(k) plans. With these investment vehicles, investment programs are put on 'autopilot,' with dollars being put into the market on a regular basis (usually each paycheck) regardless of what is happening in the overall market.

"Fortunately, investors can duplicate the autopilot feature of 401(k) plans with their DRIP investments by taking advantage of automatic monthly investment features provided by most DRIPs.

Continue reading 'Autopilot' portfolio: 10 stocks for long-term investors

'Autopilot' portfolio: 10 stocks for long-term investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The details are worth knowing. Wal-Mart sales at stores open at least a year gained 3% while Costco's climbed 10%. Limited, the owner of the Victoria's Secret lingerie chain suffered a 5% decline. But Wal-Mart's results -- while strong -- were disappointing to investors who expected 3.4% growth. What is driving this increasing budget-consciousness? The beginning of back-to-school shopping, the suspension of sales taxes in some states, $4 a gallon gas, 9.6% inflation and seven months of job losses are all combining to push shoppers to discounters and away from pricier retail outlets.

Continue reading $4 gas sends Wal-Mart, Costco up; Limited down

$4 gas sends Wal-Mart, Costco up; Limited down originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Costco warns of quarterly profit that will be 'well below expectations' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Associated Press reports that a "Depression Era" mentality is taking hold among consumers. This matters to the overall economy since 70% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth depends on consumer spending. Maybe this is good news because it will make people care more about spiritual matters, and less about material ones.

AP bolsters its consumer mentality shift with excerpts from a Nielsen survey that interviewed 50,000 consumers by e-mail during the first week of June. The survey found that

• 63% of consumers are cutting spending due to rising gas prices, up 18 percentage points from a year ago;
• 78% of consumers are combining shopping trips;
• 52% are eating out less often;
• Consumers are cutting more coupons;
• They do more of their shopping at super centers; and
• They buy less expensive brands.
  

Continue reading A 'Depression Era' mentality takes hold of consumers

A 'Depression Era' mentality takes hold of consumers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart, other retailers report better-than-expected same-store sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For the quarter, the largest U.S. wholesale club reported that its profit surged to $327.9 million, compared with $249.5 million in the same period a year ago. Last-year earnings included $53.4 million related to non-recurring charges. Higher gasoline prices boosted the company's profit in the quarter and Costco posted earnings of 74 cents per share, which was in line with analysts' forecasts.

Costco also announced a respectable 12% increase in revenues, to $16.62 billion, up from $14.80 billion a year earlier. Analysts were expecting the company to show $16.85 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Financial.

Continue reading Costco profit jumps 31% on strong gasoline demand

Costco profit jumps 31% on strong gasoline demand originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Costco (COST) first-quarter profit climbs

Costco (COST) first-quarter profit climbs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Stanford believes shares of Encore Energy Partners LP (NYSE: ENP) are reasonably valued, and started shares with a Hold rating and $20.50 target.
• The Corporate Executive Board Company (NASDAQ: EXBD) was initiated with a Neutral at Baird, as they have concerns regarding the slowing economy near-term.
• Baird also started shares of FTI Consulting Inc (NYSE: FCN) with an Outperform rating and a $64 target, as they believe the company is well-positioned for continued strong growth driven by positive macro demand and specific company drivers.
• Banc of America initiated Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Corporation (NASDAQ: GLDD) with a Neutral rating and $10 target. The firm believes near-term visibility is closed by an unsettled Army Corps/domestic funding policy and is looking for a more attractive valuation.

• Jefferies initiated Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc (NYSE: BJ) with Buy ratings and a $58 target and $46 target and shares of Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) with Hold ratings and a $62-$65 target and $66-$69 target, respectively.
• Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Wachovia.

Analyst initiations: ENP, EXBD, FCN and GLDD originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Oct 2007 11:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Cramer Foresees Bright Future for Corning
• Choose Gold Funds Over TIPS as Inflation-Busters

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Can't judge the consumer by COST originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Best Buy not immune to slowdown originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analysis provided by Eric Buscemi of Theflyonthewall.com:

Earlier in the week we blogged about Wal-Mart's Same-Store Sales miss, saying this was not enough information to signal the awful holiday shopping season the market predicted from the indicator. With more information now available, we thought we would review:

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) confirmed its preliminary SSS estimate of -0.1%, which at least did not drop further. Competitors Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) and Costco Wholsesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) also announced their SSS numbers, with Target outperforming slightly [+5.9% vs. +5.7%] and Costco underperforming slightly [+5% vs. +5.7%]
• High-end retail looked good, with both Federated Department Stores Inc. (NYSE:FD) [+8.4% vs. +4.8%] and Saks Inc. (NYSE:SKS) [+7.2% vs. +6.8%] outperforming
• Clothing retailers were mixed, with Guess Inc. (NYSE:GES) [+12.1% vs. +5.6%], Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ:PSUN) [-3.8% vs. -4.6%] and Hot Topic Inc. (NASDAQ:HOTT) [-4.3% vs. -6.8%] beating consensus estimates, while Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) [-3% vs. +3%], Bebe Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:BEBE) [+5.8% vs. +7.9%] and perennial underperformer Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) [-8% vs. -5.4%] fell short of their estimates
• Speaking of perennial underperformers, Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE:PIR) [-15.3% vs. -13.6%] and Sharper Image Corp. (NASDAQ:SHRP) [-27% vs. -18%] continued embarrassing their investors.

This adds up to a mixed bag for retailers, with the sector as a whole seeing a good deal of weakness today. This Fly maintains that it is still too early to predict doom and gloom for the whole season, however. The true telling sign for the holiday shopping season will be in consumer electronics, as CIBC World Markets channel checks predict that consumer electronics "won the day" on Black Friday.

Holiday sales season: The data arrives originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Nov 2006 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.