When the CEO of Walmart says that inflation is coming, we best be on the lookout. As head of America's largest retailer, Bill Simon is in a unique place to see inflation traveling all the way through the supply chain.

Walmart's (WMT) advanced computer systems are the some of the largest and most advanced computer systems in the world -- on par with computers the U.S. military uses. Every product and purchase is tracked to get stores resupplied as quickly as possible, usually just in time. As a retailer, Walmart is going to be keeping track of costs and profit margins very closely. Managers all across the company are carefully watching the reports.

Continue reading Is Inflation Here? Walmart Warns of Rising Prices

Is Inflation Here? Walmart Warns of Rising Prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"Japan's tsunami has struck worldwide," says Richard Moroney, the editor of Dow Theory Forecasts, which has maintained a model portfolio of blue chip stocks for over 50 years.

Here, he reviews a number of the top buy recommendations in the newsletter's portfolios to determine the potential risk posed by the recent tragic developments in Japan.

Stocks cited as "Focus List Buys" are are those issues that the service expect to significantly outperform the market over the next 12 months.

Continue reading Japan: Dow Theory's Blue Chip Portfolio Review

Japan: Dow Theory's Blue Chip Portfolio Review originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) issued its fourth-quarter report today. The company was rocking this afternoon: with a little more than two hours to go before the close of the session, the stock was up 6% to $39.93. Earlier during the intraday session, a new 52-week high of $40.26 was achieved. It's good to get over that psychological round-number level, right?

The volume of shares traded so far is already in the spectacular range. The 52-week low for the stock is $24.02, so the current price is more than a comfortable distance away from that point. The one-year chart is attractive even if it doesn't plot a straight-up line.

Continue reading Dick's Sporting Goods Hits New 52-Week High

Dick's Sporting Goods Hits New 52-Week High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Target (TGT) has not been a good stock at all since the turn of the year. Take a look at the twelve-month chart. Find where the shares were on Jan. 3. Got it? Now, do you see what happened since then? I don't think you can miss such a big drop.

The 52-week low for the retailer is $48.23; the 52-week high is $60.97. The equity finished down 0.7% to $51.30 on Monday. Volume, thankfully, was below average. That lack of conviction could be a saving grace.

Continue reading Target's Pullback: View It as a Trading Opportunity?

Target's Pullback: View It as a Trading Opportunity? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walmart (WMT) made an announcement yesterday after the bell that presumably would have excited Wall Street. The company's quarterly dividend was raised by 21%. Very nice. So why are the shares off today?

To be fair, they were in positive territory earlier in the morning. Unfortunately, as I write this, with roughly three hours to go before the conclusion of the session, they are down 0.5% to $51.74. Perhaps they will be in the green by the end of the day. When you think about it, though, a 21% jump in a metric that is supposed to be friendly to investors should have received a lot more respect, correct?

Continue reading Walmart Boosts Dividend; Stock Falls

Walmart Boosts Dividend; Stock Falls originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walmart (WMT) is the world's largest retailer, competing with companies like Target (TGT), Costco (COST), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Best Buy (BBY). The company recently released its earnings for last quarter and we have updated our price estimate to $70.75, which implies a 30% premium to the market price.

One of the outcomes in the earnings was continued improvements in Sam's Club's results. Sam's Club is a warehouse club that charges a membership fee to its customers and gives them an opportunity to buy goods at lowest prices in the market. It offers bulk displays of brand name merchandise, including hard goods, some soft goods, commercial-sized grocery items, and selected private-label items under the "Member' Mark", "Bakers & Chefs" and "Sam's Club" brands in a warehouse club format.

Continue reading Sam's Club Could Perk Up Walmart Sales If It Was More Like Costco

Sam's Club Could Perk Up Walmart Sales If It Was More Like Costco originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walmart (WMT) is the world's largest retailer, competing with companies like Target (TGT), Costco (COST), and Best Buy (BBY). Walmart's average revenue per square foot for its U.S. stores has been relatively stable in the past two years in the range of $428 to $434. We expect the revenue to increase slightly in the near term and stabilize thereafter.

With a wide assortment of product offerings to its target group of low-to-middle class U.S. consumer,s and by maintaining its pricing power over suppliers, we believe Walmart will be able to sustain its leadership in the retail industry. But the company's comparable store sales growth has been declining due to competition from discount stores and a change in consumer spending habits due to a weak economy -- all of which are impacting sales.

Continue reading Declining Sales Trend Puts Walmart on Back Foot

Declining Sales Trend Puts Walmart on Back Foot originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) is certainly the biggest icon in the retail industry. It doesn't seem like such a big name today, though. With a few minutes left until the closing bell sounds, I see a quote of $53.64 for the stock, a price that represents a decline of over 3%. And the volume backing this move is very high, my friends.

The major indexes were volatile today, so that obviously played into the sell-off. However, the fourth-quarter report also gave investors some cause for concern. According to the press release, adjusted income from continuing businesses came in at $1.34 per share. This compares to an adjusted $1.21 per share in the year-ago period.

Continue reading Walmart's Q4 Report: Sell the Numbers?

Walmart's Q4 Report: Sell the Numbers? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Barnes & Noble, the Gap, RadioShack, and Sears -- that may sound like the lineup at the local mall, but in fact they are just a few of the retailers scheduled to step into the earnings spotlight this week. Following last week's disappointing January retail sales numbers from the Commerce Department but strong fourth-quarter reports from Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and Nordstrom (JWN), the coming week will offer plenty more data on the sector for investors to mull over.

Walmart

Bentonville-based Walmart (WMT) offered free holiday shipping, closed its Moscow office and named a chief merchandising officer during its fourth quarter. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast earnings for that period to come to $1.31 per share, up from $1.17 in the same quarter of last year. The world's largest retailer also is expected to post revenues of $117.7 billion for the three months that ended in January. That's 3.5% more than a year earlier.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Walmart, Home Depot and More Retail Earnings

Week in Preview: Walmart, Home Depot and More Retail Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Winn-Dixie Stores (WINN) issued results for its fiscal second quarter on Monday after the bell. Today, the supermarket chain, which counts Walmart (WMT) as a related stock, is receiving a bid; at the time of this writing, the shares were higher by 2.5% to $6.98. Volume is above average.

The 52-week low for the equity is $5.95 while the 52-week high is $13.90. The one-year chart is not pleasant. Such a downturn in fortune doesn't make the company appealing.

Continue reading Winn-Dixie's Q2 Report: Buy or Sell the Numbers?

Winn-Dixie's Q2 Report: Buy or Sell the Numbers? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc (WMT) is the world's largest retailer, competing with companies like Target (TGT), Costco (COST), Amazon (AMZN) and Best Buy (BBY). Our price estimate for Wal-Mart stands at $65.42, which implies a premium to market price.

Continue reading What Is the Potential Upside If Walmart Gains Ground on iTunes?

What Is the Potential Upside If Walmart Gains Ground on iTunes? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading How Is Wal-Mart Doing?

How Is Wal-Mart Doing? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Perhaps it is the cynic in me, but I was not surprised to read this story about Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) from Bloomberg. The news outlet obtained an e-mail that was sent to Walmart managers instructing them to raise prices on an average of 1,800 types of toys per store. The managers were instructed to perform the price markups "as soon as possible" and were told that the price changes were "to better enable your store and the company to have a successful financial month."

Walmart stated that these price increases went into effect because temporary discounts on products (including toys) ended on November 30. Spokesman Ravi Jariwala, spokesman for Walmart, said in an e-mail, "Once a rollback ends, the item returns to its original everyday low price." That said, Eric Johnson director of the Center for Digital Strategies at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth noted that "In previous years Wal-Mart has come out and hammered everyone with unbelievably low toy prices ... They stepped away from that this year and after Thanksgiving their prices have crept back up."

Continue reading Walmart Stores Raise Toy Prices for Christmas -- Surprised?

Walmart Stores Raise Toy Prices for Christmas -- Surprised? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Poor The Talbots, Inc. (TLB). Talk about a nasty drop. With about ninety minutes to go before the end of the trading day, the company's stock is down over 20% to $9.03. Volume is way, way above average. Fortunately, the price is still comfortably higher than the 52-week low of $6.81. But that might not be saying much at this point for shareholders.

The catalyst for the move was the third-quarter earnings report. According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), net profit from continuing activities on an adjusted basis came in at 27 cents per share, four pennies below the year-ago figure.

Continue reading Talbots Takes a Dive

Talbots Takes a Dive originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Big Lots (BIG), a retailer whose colleagues include Target (TGT) and Walmart (WMT), was feeling the wrath of the sellers on Friday. The stock closed down 5% to $29.50. Volume was above the norm.

According to Briefing.com, the company made 23 cents per share in the third quarter. Unfortunately, that was one penny below the overall forecast. In addition, guidance for Q4 wasn't too striking, and same-store sales experienced only slight growth.

Continue reading Big Lots Falls After Disappointing Earnings Report

Big Lots Falls After Disappointing Earnings Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GameStop Corp. (GME) is down about 3.8% at the time of this writing. That places the quote at $20.20. Volume is pretty heavy. The 52-week low for the stock is $17.12; the 52-week high is $26.05. Looks like the market isn't exactly sure what to do with this company as the shares are at a comfortable distance between the two extremes.

Earlier today, the video-game chain reported earnings for the third quarter. According to the press release, net income, on an adjusted basis, came in at 38 cents per share. That was one penny above the estimate. Total company same-store sales increased 1.1%.

Continue reading GameStop: Buy or Sell After Latest Report?

GameStop: Buy or Sell After Latest Report? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Target Up on Q3 Release

Target Up on Q3 Release originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Investors should get used to the refrain, at least for the short-term: "The company generated strong international sales, which offset a modest sales increase in the U.S."

Tuesday's high-profile case study is retail giant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), whose strong international performance in the third quarter compensated for a 0.1% sales decline in the United States, but the macro trend is the point here. Namely -- a high U.S. unemployment rate and a "frugal consumer" habit in which adults are watching every dollar is likely to weigh on domestic sales.

Continue reading Sign of the Times: 'Strong International Sales Offset Modest U.S. Sales'

Sign of the Times: 'Strong International Sales Offset Modest U.S. Sales' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Galactic super-retailer Walmart Stores (WMT) released its highly anticipated third-quarter earnings report this morning. The company reported a 9.3% increase in profit, thanks mainly to growth abroad. Excluding tax benefits, Walmart pulled in 90 cents per share during the quarter; matching the consensus estimate and making many investors rather happy.

Looking ahead, the retailer forecast fourth-quarter earnings between $1.29 and $1.33 per share. The lower end of this range is a penny better than the Street's expected earnings of $1.28 per share. As for the full year, the retailer now expects to earn $4.12 per share, a full seven cents better than its previous forecast.

Continue reading Walmart Earnings Inline with Estimates

Walmart Earnings Inline with Estimates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week, Macy's (M) and JCPenney (JCP) kicked off the retail earnings season by posting better-than-expected earnings for the most recent quarter. Many more quarterly reports from retailers are due this week, and by and large expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are high.

Walmart (WMT), the king of retailers, is expected to buck the trend, though. Analysts anticipate that the Bentonville-based company will report that its third-quarter earnings grew only 6.7% year-over-year to 90 cents per share. During the three months that ended in October, Walmart announced an acquisition in South Africa and kicked-off the holiday shopping season, and revenue for that period is predicted to have risen 3.0% to $102.4 billion. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, analysts so far expect sequential and year-over-year growth of both earnings and revenue. Walmart results have not fallen short of consensus estimates in the past five quarters.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Retailers Offer Up Earnings (WMT, ANF, LOW, TGT)

Week in Preview: Retailers Offer Up Earnings (WMT, ANF, LOW, TGT) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 14 Nov 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.