Teen stores Buckle and Zumiez battered expectations, while Gap and Wet Seal both missed expectations badly.

Data from CNBC.

Limited Brands’ same-store sales rose 7%, compared with a consensus estimate of 4.4%. Net sales fell by -2.3%, however, from $893 million a year ago to $872.6 million. The company also announced a $2/share special dividend to be paid on December 23rd to shareholders of record on December 12th.

The Talbot’s Inc. (NYSE: TLB) reported third-quarter earnings this morning and posted an adjusted EPS loss of -$0.22, compared with a consensus estimate of an EPS loss of -$0.16. Same-store sales fell by -4% in November. Talbot’s has closed 35 store locations so far this year and plans to close a total of 110 locations by the end of its 2013 fiscal year.

Costco’s same-store sales rose 7%, excluding gasoline and currency effects. Including gasoline, sales were up 9%. Analysts were expecting a rise of 6.5%.

Target posted a same-store sales gain of 1.8% in November, but analysts were looking for a gain of 2.8%. The company’s CEO said that he expects December to offer a “competitive and promotional environment as consumers continue to focus on value.”

Macy’s same-store sales rose 4.8% last month, and total sales were up 5.3%. The consensus estimate for same-store sales was an increase of 4.1%.

Dillard’s posted a same-store sales jump of 3%, in-line with the average estimate.

Nordstrom reported November same-store sales rose 5.6%, compared with an average analyst estimate of 5%. Total sales rose nearly 12% in November.

Kohl’s reported that November same-store sales fell -6.2%, while analysts were expecting a 2% increase. The CEO called the results “disappointing,” and said that the company expects to benefit from customers seeking value during the remainder of the holiday shopping season.

Gap same-store sales fell by -5%, more than the analysts’ expectation of a -4.3% decline. The company’s CEO expects December to “to remain fiercely competitive and highly promotional.”

Ross posted a same-store sales increase of 5% in November, better than the 3.7% that analysts were expecting. The company said it expects a 3%-4% increase in December as well.

Penney’s same-store sales fell -2% in November, compared with a -1.6% decline expected by the analysts. Total sales also fell by nearly -6% in the month.

TJX reported same-store sales growth of 4%, in-line with the average estimate. The company’s CEO said that the store would have performed better but for the warmer weather which put off winter clothes buying.

Lululemon reported third-quarter earnings today, noting that same-store sales jumped 16% in the quarter. Shares are down more than -11% in the first half-hour of trading this morning. Here’s our coverage of the company’s earnings report.

Stage Stores reported same-store sales rose 2.3%, compared with an estimate for a flat month. Total sales rose 4.3%, and the company’s CEO said that the final week of the month was “very strong.”

Pier One released third quarter sales figures today, and same-store sales for the quarter ending November 27th rose 7%. The company said quarterly EPS would be $0.20-$0.21, compared with the consensus EPS estimate of $0.18. Same-store sales for the holiday weekend were up 10% over last year.

Paul Ausick

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Outperform and $500 target at Credit Suisse.
CIGNA Corp. (NYSE: CI) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
DeVry, Inc. (NYSE: DV) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) maintained Hold at Argus.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Raised to Buy at Collins Stewart.
Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) Reiterated Buy and $72 target at Argus.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut target to $20 at Credit Suisse.
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
ZOLL Medical Corp. (NASDAQ: ZOLL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 259 points to 12,153.46 (2.18%), the NASDAQ rose more than 53 points (2.04%) to 2,678.75, and the S&P 500 rose 1.95% or more than 24 points to 1,263.85.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) started as ‘neutral’ at Nomura. Other changes included Cameron International (NYSE: CAM) reiterated ‘buy’ with $73 target at BofA/ML; Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) maintained ‘neutral’ but cut target to $14 at JPMorgan; NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) reiterated ‘buy’ with $18 target at BofA/ML; SUPERVALU Inc. (NYSE: SVU) reinstated as ‘neutral’ at BofA/ML; and Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) started as ‘outperform’ at BMO Capital.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) is down more than -13%, at $47.91; D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE: DHI) is down more than -2%, at $11.42; Bacterin International Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BONE) is up more than 6%, at $2.90; Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDTI) is down more than -3.5%, at $3.45; and The Howard Hughes Corp. (NYSE: HHC) is up more than 2.5%, at $47.25.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Pinnacle Data Systems Inc. (AMEX: PNS) is up more than 105%, at $2.36. The company has accepted a takeover offer from Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) worth $2.40/share.

Alimera Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALIM) is down nearly -74%, at $1.94. The company failed to get FDA approval for its eye pain drug.

pSivida Corp. (NASDAQ: PSDV) is down more than -46%, at $2.11. The company had licensed to Alimera an element of the drug that failed the FDA test.

Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is down more than -13%, at $33.43. The company missed earnings and revenue estimates.

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: HOVNP) is down more than -9%, at $1.40. The company did not have any news today, but likely suffered from the earnings report from D.R. Horton.

Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corp. (AMEX: TRX) is up more than 20%, at $2.75. The company’s shares were halted earlier, and the company issued a statement that there was no particular event responsible for the heavy trading in the stock.

Except for short-term Treasury Bill auctions, there are no events scheduled for Monday.

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Paul Ausick

Crude oil is at $98.03, up 0.26%

Gold is at $1,763, up 0.21%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed up 0.91% to 19,137.

Japan’s Nikkei closed higher by 0.16% to 8,514.

The U.S. 10-year is at 2.05%, down 0.o1%.

The FTSE is up .95% to $5,497.

The DAX is up 1.96% to $5,984.

E Trade Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) is down 5% before market open to $9.00, relative to a 52-week range of $7.74 – $18.13. The company announced the conclusion of its inquiry into strategic alternatives.

Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) is down 4.8% to $52.50, relative to a 52-week range of $28.03 – $61.08. The company’s third quarter profit jumped 85% from the same time last year.

Dryships, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) is up 1.7%  to $2.88, relative to a 52-week range of $1.75 – $6.44.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR) is up 1% premarket to $41.30, relative to a 52-week range of $29.55 – $115.98. This small jump comes after shares of GMCR fell nearly 40% yesterday during regular trading hours.

Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is up 2.4% before market open to $32.09, relative to a 52-week range of $21.11 – 36.42.

Skip to the eight worst-performing retail chains in America

Analysts predict that the holiday shopping season will be difficult for many retailers this year. The National Retail Federation reported that industry sales will be up only 2.8% to $465.6 billion, not enough to make up for three brutal years. Thousands of stores have been closed as a consequence of a drop in retail activity because of the recession. Stores closures for many retailers will continue.

Several of the largest retailers have consistently performed poorly between 2005 and 2010 for reasons that go beyond the recession. 24/7 Wall St. has identified the eight retailers that lost the most in total sales during that period. The stores that fared the worst have a great deal in common.

First, some specialty retailers compete with larger chains. This is certainly the case for Foot Locker because the big box retailers and most department stores sell high-end athletic shoes.

The presence of direct competitors that are similarly sized is yet another reason for the poor performance of some stores on the list. The office products retail sector is occupied by Office Depot, Office Max and Staples. Walmart’s Sam’s Club has created lines of merchandise that also compete in the same market.

The third reason that some of the retailers have done poorly is weak management. Robert Nardelli was a former Jack Welch lieutenant at GE. Nardelli was passed over for Welch’s job. He was hired by Home Depot to run the company after he failed to get the promotion. Between 2000 and 2007, Nardelli managed to alienate both employees and shareholders with poor results and his extravagant pay packages. JCPenney has had similar management problems. Poor merchandising decisions by CEO Mike Ullman, who has run the company since 2004, hurt revenue. He was recently replaced by the head of Apple’s retail store operation, Ron Johnson.

The retail industry has fared relatively well in the past five years, despite the recession, buoyed by strong sales during 2005 to 2007. GDP grew by 16% over these same five years. Also, most big operators have been able to increase revenue since the middle of the last decade. U.S. Sales at industry giants such as Walmart, Target and Costco have risen by 21%, 13% and 28%, respectively. With $600 billion a year in combined sales, the trio are a reasonable proxy for the entire industry.

To identify the large retailers in America with the worst sales, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data published by National Retail Federation’s Stores Magazine. We relied on “Top 100 Retailers” list to identify the retailers that had lost the most in annual retail sales from 2005 to 2010. Only public companies were ranked in order to demonstrate how declining sales affect the overall health of corporations. Because sales numbers can be distorted, companies with significant M&A activity were also excluded.

These are America’s eight disappearing store chains.

A couple of weeks ago we looked at implied share price gains at several retailers, and today we’ll take a more focused look at mall anchor stores. Three retailers from our previous survey are included: Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M); Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN); and Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS). We’ve added J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE: JCP), Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS), Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), and Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD).

In just two weeks, the target prices for Macy’s, Nordstrom’s, and Kohl’s have all changed. Macy’s and Kohl’s have had their targets reduced, while Nordstrom’s has risen. The likely reason is for the better outlook for higher-end retailers like Nordstrom. Macy’s Bloomingdale’s stores are expected to do better as well during the holiday season, but the impact on Macy’s overall revenues and earnings isn’t as decisive.

Saks, Dillard’s, Penney’s, and Sears have all broken through the most recent target prices posted at Yahoo! Finance. Either analysts have stopped caring or the shares are over-achievers, at least for the time being.

All data from Yahoo! Finance. Current share price info gathered just before noon today.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) has a median target price of $34.00 from 13 brokers. Shares are trading today at $31.81, for an implied gain of $2.19, or 7%. Macy’s forward P/E is 10.45 and the company pays a dividend yield of 1.3%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $21.69-$31.35, and at today’s price that’s about 46% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and just 2% below the 52-week high. Macy’s has forecast total revenue growth of 4.5% for the year, with growth at its Bloomingdale’s stores up 7%. That’s not as healthy as it sounds, though, because total sales were up more than 6% year-to-date through September, indicating that holiday sales growth won’t be as robust as the rest of the year.

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) has a median target price of $54.00 from 20 brokers. Shares are trading today at $51.52, for an implied gain of $2.48, or 5%. Nordstrom’s forward P/E is 14.36 and the company pays a dividend yield of 1.8%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $37.28-$53.35, and at today’s price that’s about 38% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and just 3% below the 52-week high. Nordstrom’s shares posted a new 52-week high earlier this week and is well within reach of another if October sales come in substantially higher than expected. The company’s position as a high-end retailer should attract more holiday traffic and more sales.

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) has a median target price of $61.50 from 18 brokers. Shares are trading today at $53.71, for an implied gain of $7.79, or 14.5%. Kohl’s forward P/E is 10.48 and the company pays a dividend yield of 1.9%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $42.14-$58.00, and at today’s price that’s about 27% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 7% below the 52-week high. Kohl’s shares are up more than $3 since our last look at the company just two weeks ago. The company has added a total of 38 new stores since January, and that ought to drive nicely higher revenue. Kohl’s is also upping its seasonal hiring by 5% over last year, adding 40,000 temporary workers for this holiday season.

J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE: JCP) has a median target price of $28.00 from 11 brokers. Shares are trading today at $33.18, nearly 16% above the target price. Penney’s forward P/E is 4.37 and the company pays a dividend yield of 2.4%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $23.44-$41.00, and at today’s price that’s about 42% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 19% below the 52-week high. Penney’s has sold off another 15 of its outlet stores as it continues on a path to close all of them by the end of next year. The company also recently acquired the Liz Claiborne brand and announced a $900 million share buyback. Even though the share price has broken through the median target price, it is still well short of its 52-week high.

Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) has a median target price of $11.00 from 9 brokers. Shares are trading today at $11.15, about 1.4% above the target price. Saks’ forward P/E is 22.32 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $7.67-$12.97, and at today’s price that’s about 45% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 14% below the 52-week high. Saks is on track to double its full-year EPS this year, from $0.19 last year to $0.39 this year. Like Nordstrom’s, Saks is a higher-end player and those customers are expected to spend more this holiday season. Shares are down more than -5% today, though, on no news.

Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) has a median target price of $52.50 from just 2 brokers. Shares are trading today at $52.52, fractionally above the target price. Dillard’s forward P/E is 11.84 and the company pays a dividend yield of 0.4%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $25.31-$61.08, and at today’s price that’s about 108% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 14% below the 52-week high. Dillard’s stock price has doubled in the past 12 months, setting an all time high for the company in July. Analysts seem completely underwhelmed by the company’s performance. The outlook calls for continued growth through the holiday season. What’s not to like here?

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) has a median target price of $44.00 from just 3 brokers. Shares are trading today at $79.40, nearly 45% above the target price. Sears’ forward P/E is negative and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $51.14-$94.79, and at today’s price that’s about 55% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 16% below the 52-week high. Sears has struck deals to sell Craftsman brand tools through Ace Hardware stores and Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) stores. The company suffers from a poor customer service reputation and low customer loyalty. Sears’ estimated EPS loss for the full fiscal year is now set at -$1.48, half a buck worse than expected just three months ago. Until the shares get closer to the 52-week high, no one is going to care much about target prices.

Paul Ausick

We have September same-store sales from Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT, Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE: JCP), Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Stage Stores Inc. (NYSE: SSI), Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ), and The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE: BKE).

Target reported September same-store sales up 5.3%, and total sales up 6.5% from September 2010. Analysts were expecting growth of 3.9%. For the year-to-date, same-store sales at Target are up 3.4% year-over-year, compared with a 2.1% year-to-date rise in 2010 over 2009.

Macy’s posted a jump of 4.9% in September same-store sales, and an overall increase of 5.3%. Analysts were expecting a same-store sales increase of 4.4%. The company’s CEO is buoyant, ” We are feeling quite confident that we will continue to gain market share as we head toward the holiday selling season.” Year-to-date, same-store sales are up 5.6% and total sales are up 6.1%. Macy’s also said it expects both third- and fourth-quarter sales to be at the high end of the 4%-4.5% guidance the company has already issued.

Nordstrom reported a jump of 10.7% in September same-store sales and a total sales increase of 16.3%. Analysts had been expecting a same-store increase of 5.2%

J.C. Penney was among those that missed estimates. The company reported that same-store sales in September were down -0.6% and total sales were off an even worse -3.6%. Analysts had been expecting a same-store increase of 0.6% for the month. The store noted that sales of children’s apparel were among its better performing divisions, no surprise given the back-to-school shopping season.

Dillard’s posted a 4% rise in same-store sales for September, and a total sales increase of 3%. Analysts had been expecting a same-store boost of 3.3%. On a regional basis, the store said that sales were at the average company trend for the midwest, slightly below trend in the east, and below trend for the west. That doesn’t sound like upbeat forecast for the holiday season.

Limited stores posted an 11% jump in September same-store sales, more than double the expected rise of 4.6%. Total sales for the month rose 11% as well, and year-to-date sales are up nearly 12%.

Gap was another store that recorded a drop in same-store sales. The decrease came in a -4%, worse than expectations of -3.8%. International sales were hit the hardest, down -13% year-over-year.

Stage Stores also showed a decline in September same-store sales. The drop totaled -0.7% versus an expected gain of 0.3%.

Zumiez blasted through expectations of a 3.2% increase in same-store sales, posting a gain of 10.1%. The company raised its guidance for third-quarter sales and now expects EPS to rise from $0.37-$0.39 to $0.40-$0.41.

The Buckle posted a September same-store sales gain of 10.3%, far better than expectations of 3.8%. Total sales rose 13% year-over-year, and year-to-date same-store sales are up 8.7%.

The only retailer expected to see a double-digit rise in same-store sales for the month was Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), and it didn’t disappoint, posting a 12% gain. But Nordstrom, Limited, Zumiez, and Buckle were all big positive surprises with their double-digit sales growth. J.C. Penney, Gap, and Stage Stores continue to struggle.

If there’s a signal here for the coming holiday season, it’s that maybe the US economy isn’t as bad as all the other signals indicate. Or it could be that consumers spent money on needed school clothes and supplies, but are not going to be such free spenders later this year.

Paul Ausick

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
BE Aerospace Inc. (NASDAQ: BEAV) Started as Buy at BofA/ML.
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) called Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Dunkin’ Brands Group (NASDAQ: DNKN) Started as Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo; Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Neutral at BofA/ML.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Cut to Sell at Argus.
Merge Healthcare (NASDAQ: MRGE) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) Raised to Buy at Argus.
PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) maintained Buy but removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
SodaStream International Ltd. (NASDAQ: SODA) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Teavana Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TEA) started as Outperform at William Blair; Started as Neutral at BofA/ML.
United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Wesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc. C (NYSE: WAIR) Started as Buy at BofA/ML.

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JON C. OGG

The convenience of online shopping and the ability to make price comparisons on the Internet has completely changed retail trends in the past decade. Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and other e-commerce sites have already taken a significant lead. Amazon’s revenue in the latest quarter grew 51% to $9.9 billion. If revenue continues to increase at this rate, Amazon will become a $60 billion company next year. That is larger than Lowe’s or Best Buy, and it makes brick-and-mortar retailers shudder.

24/7 Wall St. has analyzed the effectiveness of the e-commerce operations at 25 huge, publicly traded retailers in the U.S. We looked at total revenue for 2010 based on SEC filings. We then considered each company’s web traffic for July 2011 based on data from Experian Hitwise, a research company that measures online audiences. We looked at the total traffic of each company and its share of traffic among the 25 retailers.

This list includes the worst ten retailers in terms of the ratio of annual revenue to the company’s share of Internet traffic among the retailers in July. A retailer with very large revenues but low Internet visits has done a poor job of getting more customers to shop online. Naturally, the largest online retailer, Amazon, received the best e-commerce effectiveness score of 2.1. The higher the score, the worse the performance.

Some of the results are to be expected. Pharmacies and home supply stores such as Home Depot and CVS Caremark do not do particularly well. It seems that although the companies have well-established e-commerce operations and sophisticated websites, people tend to shop for drugstore items and building materials by visiting physical locations. Still, these companies cannot ignore e-commerce, because people increasingly buy items of nearly any kind online.

The most notable result of the analysis is how poorly Walmart did, given its position as the number one retailer in the world and tremendous financial and merchandising resources. Walmart received one of the worst ranks among all the companies considered. Walmart.com is the second most visited e-commerce site on the Internet, based on Hitwise numbers. But the portion of Walmart’s sales that come from e-commerce are extremely small — less that 2%, or $6 billion, according to analysts from Wells Fargo Securities. Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners LLC, told Bloomberg, “Wal-Mart has been lagging in e-commerce, and the loss of two executives won’t help where the company’s going. It will be challenging for them to build the momentum they need.” The world’s largest retailer recently dismissed its two senior online executives.

The Ten Biggest Stores With No Online Shoppers