I was checking out an article over at GuruFocus on companies that have recently raised their dividend payments to shareholders. The Gap, Inc. (GPS) was on the list. I decided to take a brief look at the stock's current status.

At the time of this writing, shares of the retailer were off fractionally, priced at a quote of $21.44. The 52-week low for the shares is $16.62 while the 52-week high is $26.34. Don't you hate that? The stock is basically stuck in the middle of the range. So which way is it going to go?

Continue reading Gap -- Buy or Sell?

Gap -- Buy or Sell? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of women's clothing retailer Chico's FAS Inc. (CHS) traded sharply higher Wednesday morning, despite missing its earnings estimate by one penny before the market opened.

Going into this fourth-quarter earnings report, analysts had been expecting to see earnings of $0.13 per share, but the company came up a bit shy at just $0.12.

Continue reading Chico's FAS Soars Despite Earnings Miss

Chico's FAS Soars Despite Earnings Miss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) is a leading apparel company that primarily targets teens and young adults in the U.S. It competes with retailers like Aeropostale (ARO), Gap (GPS), J.Crew Group (JCG) and Urban Outfitters (URBN), and owns apparel brands such as A&F, Hollister and Gilly Hicks.

Looking at the Holiday Season

Our price estimate for Abercrombie & Fitch stock is $53.34, roughly 6% above market price. We estimate that A&F Stores account for 37% of the company's stock value compared to 29% for Hollister stores. The Internet & Catalog Orders contribute around 19%.

Continue reading Abercrombie & Fitch Growing Globally, Improving Margins

Abercrombie & Fitch Growing Globally, Improving Margins originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This year get ready to open your wallet wider and expect higher credit card bills for the basics like food, clothing and energy. You are probably wondering what is going on. While you weren't paying much attention, the price raw commodities surged in 2010. Corn, sugar, wheat, cotton, coffee and soybeans prices soared last year, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

A confluence of factors pushed prices up. We had and still have demand explosion from China and India. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's monthly food index which monitors a basket of commodities including meat, dairy and sugar rose for the sixth straight month to a record.

Continue reading Higher Commodity Prices Are Grabbing Your Money

Higher Commodity Prices Are Grabbing Your Money originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The shares of Jones Apparel Group, Inc. (JNY), first discussed on December 15, 2009, at a price of $16.55, have exhibited sideways action during the past three months. The calculation is to keep the trade in play. Here's why:

Jones, a multi-brand apparel and accessories company that operates at both the wholesale and retail levels, will probably post an 8% to 10% revenue increase in 2010 revenue, followed by a 5% to 7% gain in 2011.

Continue reading Has Jones Apparel's Pull-Back Created an Opportunity?

Has Jones Apparel's Pull-Back Created an Opportunity? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Is Men's Wearhouse a Buy After Q1 Report?

Is Men's Wearhouse a Buy After Q1 Report? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Jones Apparel: Core-Brand Focus Starts to Pay Off

Jones Apparel: Core-Brand Focus Starts to Pay Off originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Nordstrom: A Star in Upscale Retail

Nordstrom: A Star in Upscale Retail originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 May 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Polo Ralph Lauren Up on Q4 Numbers: Should You Buy?

Polo Ralph Lauren Up on Q4 Numbers: Should You Buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 May 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Phillips Van-Heusen Corp. (PVH) issued Q4 numbers Monday after the bell. The apparel maker, which recently purchased the Tommy Hilfiger brand, doubled its adjusted income to 61 cents per share. That was two pennies ahead of estimates. The top line increased 9%, also on an adjusted basis.

When you compare the fourth quarter's growth rates to the performance of the full fiscal year, you'll see a clear advantage to the former. This is hopefully indicative of a bright future course.

Continue reading Phillips-Van Heusen Tops Estimates, the Future Looks Bright

Phillips-Van Heusen Tops Estimates, the Future Looks Bright originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you are a shareholder of apparel entity Perry Ellis (PERY), you probably aren't so happy about the price action seen on Friday. The stock was off by 9%, on strong volume. The market just wasn't buying the earnings news.

What happened? According to Reuters, the situation didn't seem so bad. The company made 64 cents per share in the fourth quarter. That was a lot better than the $1.58 per-share loss observed in the comparable period twelve months ago. Furthermore, estimates were set at 59 cents per share. Come on, what gives? Plus, if you look at the actual press release, you'll find some encouraging commentary from management. The worst of the economic problems is hopefully behind the business; in addition, cash flow appears to be decent.

Continue reading Perry Ellis Sold Off on Q4 Earnings

Perry Ellis Sold Off on Q4 Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Situations can change, of course, but for now, the stats do nothing at all for me. Total revenues decreased 4%. Same-store sales were down at each concept; the actual Men's Wearhouse brand was down over 7%. According to Reuters, the adjusted loss per share was 11 cents. This beat the analysts: they were bracing for a loss of 16 cents per share.

Continue reading Men's Wearhouse Beats Estimates, but I'm Not Buying

Men's Wearhouse Beats Estimates, but I'm Not Buying originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Carter's Inc. (CRI), a retailer of children's apparel, reported Q3 earnings on Friday. The company delivered a nice increase in both sales and net income. It even beat earnings estimates. Yet, the stock is down over 3% as I write this. The market can be funny sometimes, huh?

The top line increased over 10%. Adjusted per-share profit came in at 84 cents. That represented a whopping increase over the adjusted 58 cents per share recorded one year ago. Carter's also experienced a good rise in comparable store sales; the statistic went up over 6%. The OshKosh segment didn't do so well with comps, however.

Continue reading Sales Increase in Third Quarter Drives Results for Carter's

Sales Increase in Third Quarter Drives Results for Carter's originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The first estimates for the holiday shopping season have come in. MasterCard (MA) Advisors unit SpendingPulse, which tracks retail spending, puts the result at a year-over-year increase of 3.6%. This includes all form of payment and does not factor in gas and auto sales. The increase comes relative to the 2008 holiday season, which was the worst season in decades for retailers thanks to the global financial crisis.

Says Kamalesh Rao, director of economic research at SpendingPulse, "Last year the economy and consumer spending were in free fall. This year we're talking about an environment that has stabilized, that has seen a leveling off." But, that doesn't mean it's turned the corner yet. Holiday spending isn't enough to cure what ails us.

Continue reading Early Estimates for Retail Sales Favor Online

Early Estimates for Retail Sales Favor Online originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Men's Wearhouse (NYSE: MW) issued second-quarter results after the bell on Wednesday. In terms of bottom-line performance, the retailer passed with flying colors. Earnings per share increased to 75 cents per share from the adjusted 72 cents per share observed a year ago. Granted, that's only a three-penny difference, but when it comes to expectations, well, they were blown out the door. According to Reuters, Wall Street was only preparing for 60 cents per share.

Unfortunately, the top-line picture wasn't so pretty. Total sales fell 3.5%, and same-store sales for all of the company's brands declined. The flagship Men's Wearhouse concept saw a comps dip of 2%.

Continue reading Men's Wearhouse demolishes expectations in Q2 -- time to take profits?

Men's Wearhouse demolishes expectations in Q2 -- time to take profits? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Same-store sales plummet at Abercrombie & Fitch

Same-store sales plummet at Abercrombie & Fitch originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO), a fashion retailer that competes with Gap (NYSE: GPS) and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), didn't do too well in Q2. Total sales went down 5%, and earnings per share on a GAAP basis fell a most awful 50% to 14 cents. According to Bloomberg, the adjusted earnings of 12 cents per share came up short of analyst expectations by three pennies.

Same-store sales hit the double-digit mark to the downside: they decreased 10%. Not a good number for this kind of business. Promotional markdowns helped to drive the gross margin down. The operating margin also took a hit.

Continue reading American Eagle Outfitters bombs with comps in the second quarter

American Eagle Outfitters bombs with comps in the second quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ann Taylor Stores (NYSE: ANN) reported earnings for the second quarter this past Friday. I didn't think the results were good at all, but the stock did close higher by the end of the trading session. On an adjusted basis, net income dropped like a rock to 6 cents per share from 53 cents per share in the year-ago period. According to Bloomberg, Ann Taylor beat estimates by 3 cents.

Interestingly enough, the market did agree with me early on. That Bloomberg piece mentioned how the shares experienced a decline upon the release. Later on, the shares rebounded as buyers stepped in to partake of a perceived opportunity.

Continue reading Ann Taylor beats in second quarter -- is it a trade or an investment?

Ann Taylor beats in second quarter -- is it a trade or an investment? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), a retailer that competes with Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO), and Gap (NYSE: GPS), posted what I thought was a superb second-quarter earnings summary on Thursday after the bell. The figures were very appealing, and I would've expected a better after-hours reaction by the stock to the news. Then again, the market can never be predicted. It will do whatever the heck it wants.

Net sales increased 20%. Not bad, am I right? Wait, check this out. Earnings per share came in at 57 cents, compared to the 31 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. According to Reuters, that was a penny ahead of expectations. But that penny beat on the bottom line isn't what impresses me the most. It's the strong per-share profit expansion that I find compelling.

Continue reading Aeropostale posts a sharp increase in Q2 profit

Aeropostale posts a sharp increase in Q2 profit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After filing for bankruptcy protection a month ago, Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. (OTC: EBHIQ) is already seeing the suitors line up. Iconix Brand Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ICON), which owns Rocawear, is showing some interest. Hilco Consumer Capital and Gordon Brothers Group LLC are also looking to make a joint offer for the embattled clothing retailer, and Golden Gate Capital is said to be interested. Hudson Capital Partners LLC may throw its hat in the ring, as well.

Tomorrow's the bidding deadline, and there's an auction lined up for Eddie Bauer's assets on Thursday.

Already in the game, CCMP Capital Advisors ponied up $202 million in a "stalking horse bid," meaning that it will make the acquisition if nobody else beats its offer.

For now, Bauer's is living on borrowed time -- and cash. The company got court permission to take a loan for $100 million to keep the operation moving until an acquisition or auction is complete.

The private equity firms rumored to be eyeing Eddie Bauer have retail and apparel companies in their portfolios, which suggests a possibility that the company could be turned around with the right investment and management team. If not, I wonder if they'll sell the window decorations at the auction . . . always wanted my living room to look like a mall.

Bidders line up for bankrupt Bauer originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.