Retailer J. Crew Group (JCG) is scheduled to take its turn in the earnings spotlight tomorrow, and option volume is rising as traders anticipate the quarterly results.

Today's activity appears to be primarily bullish in nature; in the early hours of the session, one speculator initiated a bull put spread by simultaneously selling JCG's out-of-the-money June 40 put, and simultaneously purchasing an equivalent number of June 37.50 puts.

Continue reading Speculation Heats Up on J. Crew Ahead of Earnings

Speculation Heats Up on J. Crew Ahead of Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 May 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

J. Crew Group's (NYSE: JCG) stock is not a thing of beauty. The retailer's shares have been weak for a long time, and the latest quarterly numbers did nothing to change my mind about the stock's prospects.

For the second quarter, J. Crew, whose competitors include Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) and Gap (NYSE: GPS), reported a 10% increase in top-line sales. Not bad, I suppose. But I'll tell you what, there is some bad to come. Operating income went down 15%. Gross margin saw an unfortunate decline, dropping from 43.7% to 41%. And earnings per diluted share came in at 28 cents compared to last year's 32 cents per diluted share. That's a better than 12% drop.

Now, there is something to consider with the stats. The earnings release states that a systems upgrade in the direct-sales channel is affecting the results. In fact, there apparently were some costs related to the upgrades that were unexpected. Management says that this sum was equal to $3 million. In theory, these upgrades will help to position the company for long-term growth.

Continue reading J. Crew Group's Q2 fails to impress; avoid the stock

J. Crew Group's Q2 fails to impress; avoid the stock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

J. Crew Group (NYSE: JCG) is a multi-channel retailer of women's and men's apparel, shoes and accessories. Known for its preppy fashions, the firm targets young professionals through 203 retail stores, a catalog business, a Web site and 63 factory outlet stores. Asian contractors produce about eighty percent of the company's merchandise. Competitors include Gap (NYSE: GPS) and Abercrombie and Fitch (NYSE: ANF).

The company pleased investors last month, when it reported Q4 EPS of 41 cents (ex-items). That topped the average Street estimate by two cents. Revenues rose 53.5% (yr/yr) to $399.9 million ($400.9M consensus). Gross margins improved 50 basis points to 41.3% and operating margins increased 60 basis points to 10.8%. Management guided FY09 EPS to $1.85-$1.87, versus consensus of $1.83.

Continue reading J. Crew Group (JCG): Shares cycling in positive trading channel

J. Crew Group (JCG): Shares cycling in positive trading channel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

J. Crew Group (NYSE: JCG) is a multi-channel retailer of women's and men's apparel, shoes and accessories. Known for its preppy fashions, the firm targets young professionals through 198 retail stores, a catalog business, a Web site and 61 factory outlet stores. It also has more than forty shops in Japan, through a joint venture with Itochu. Asian contractors produce about eighty percent of the company's merchandise. Competitors include Gap (NYSE: GPS) and Abercrombie and Fitch (NYSE: ANF).

The company pleased investors last week, when it reported Q3 EPS of 42 cents and revenues of $332.7 million. Analysts had been looking for 36 cents and $312.3 million. The CEO cited strength in both the store and direct businesses for the solid results. Management also guided FY08 EPS to $1.50-$1.52, versus consensus of $1.46. The share price popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Stocks frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Continue reading J. Crew Group (JCG) shares forming bullish 'flag'

J. Crew Group (JCG) shares forming bullish 'flag' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One of the more popular retail apparel business models aims to satisfy the fashion sense of young managerial types. One of the more successful practitioners of the art is headquartered on Broadway.

J. Crew Group (NYSE: JCG) is a multi-channel retailer of women's and men's apparel, shoes and accessories. Known for its preppy fashions, the firm targets young professionals through 186 retail stores, a catalog business, a Web site and 53 factory outlet stores. It also has more than 40 shops in Japan, through a joint venture with Itochu. Asian contractors produce about 80% of the company's merchandise. Competitors include Gap (NYSE: GPS) and Abercrombie and Fitch (NYSE: ANF).

The company pleased investors last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 39 cents and revenues of $297.3 million. Analysts had been looking for 30 cents and $270.4 million. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 26-28 cents (28 cent consensus) and boosted FY07 EPS expectations from $1.27-$1.31 to $1.37-$1.41 ($1.32 consensus).

Continue reading J. Crew Group: Fashions for the young professional

J. Crew Group: Fashions for the young professional originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.