24/7 Wall St. » DLTR

Top Analyst Upgrades and Stocks to Buy: J.C. Penney, VeriFone, Whole Foods, More

Jon C. Ogg — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:30:02 +0000

Investors and traders constant look for fresh research ideas that will lead to higher income or more profits. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many fresh research calls each morning to find great ideas from value stocks to growth stocks to dividend stocks. We are breaking out the positive analyst calls as far as stocks to buy and positive research calls today. These are some of this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, initiations and positive analyst research calls seen from Wall Street today.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was started as Buy with $130 price target at Sterne Agee.

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was started as Buy with $58 price target at Sterne Agee.

ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) was started as Buy with a $55 price target as a 3D printing industrial materials pure play at Canaccord Genuity.

The Fresh Market Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) was started as Buy with $60 price target at Sterne Agee.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) was started as Buy with $23 price target at Sterne Agee.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP) resumed at Overweight by Barclays.

Lifepoint Hospitals Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) was started as Buy with $60 price target at Sterne Agee.

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) was started as Buy with $70 price target at Sterne Agee.

Philips Electronics N.V. (NYSE: PHG) was raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) was raised to Positive at Susquehanna.

Whole Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) was started as Buy with $61 price target at Sterne Agee.

Here is a list of stocks that will benefit from the coming American energy independence.

A key research report from UBS is calling technology dirt cheap as secular growth is on sale for investors.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: COST, DLTR, JCP, JWN, KMP, LPNT, M, PAY, PHG, TFM, THC, WFM, XONE

Closing Bell for Thursday on Wall Street: Markets Stall on Japan Losses

Paul Ausick — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:05:54 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened sharply lower this morning, taking a lead from Japan’s Nikkei, which fell more than 7% for the day. Japan’s government bond yields spiked until the Bank of Japan intervened. Japan-focused ETFs got clobbered today. Nearly missed in the flurry surrounding the Japanese debacle was the decline in China’s manufacturing PMI<>. Europe followed Japan’s lead as well, even though eurozone manufacturing PMI rose. The bad news is that the eurozone’s manufacturing PMI continues to contract. In the U.S., new claims for jobless benefits fell, while data on new home sales and house prices continued to improve. U.S. equities ended the day with a small loss after the dust settled.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.73% today, now at 83.7360. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.8% at 625.96. WTI crude oil closed down fractionally, at $94.25 a barrel. Brent crude trades down 0.1% at $102.46 a barrel. Natural gas is up 1.7% today at about $4.26 per million BTUs following a relatively small addition to the nation’s inventories<>. Gold settled up 1.8% today at $1,391.80.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 13 points to 15,294.50 (-0.08%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 4 points (-0.11%) to 3,459.42, and the S&P 500 fell -0.29% or nearly 5 points to 1,650.53.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

Sanmina Corp. (NASDAQ: SANM) cut to ‘sell’ at Deutsche Bank;
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) started as ‘underperform’ at Credit Suisse;
Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank;
VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) raised to ‘buy’ at SunTrust; and
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) raised to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in some price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today:

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) is down 6.2% at $1.96;
L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) is down 0.4% at $X51.25X;
PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) is up 1.9% at $70.35;
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: SEAS) is down 1.3% at $37.24;
Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY) is up 0.9% at $66.34;
Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is up 4% at $50.29;
GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) is down 1.1% at $35.85;
Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) is down 2.5% at $183.46; and
Stein Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT) is up 4.8% at $12.28, a new 52-week high.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO), America’s Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL), Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P), Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST), Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM), Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ), Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), and Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is up 16.8% at $24.79 after posting a new 52-week high of $24.91 earlier today. The printer and computer maker posted better-than-expected earnings last night.

MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD) is up 8.1% at $6.74 after posting a new 52-week high of $6.99 earlier today. The biopharmaceuticals firm continues to see shares rise following a report yesterday that the company is a likely takeover target.

Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) is down 19.8% at $17.70. The semiconductor maker lowered its outlook, this morning.

Stay tuned for Friday. We have noted the following event on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Durable goods orders

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ANF, ARO, CRM, CRMT, CRUS, DLTR, DO, DRYS, FL, GME, GPS, HPQ, JNJ, LTD, MNKD, MRVL, P, PAY, PETM, RL, ROST, SANM, SEAS, SMRT, STX, WDAY, ZUMZ

Dollar Tree Earnings Could be Offset by Lukewarm Guidance

Paul Ausick — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00:23 +0000

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) reported first-quarter 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The discount retailer posted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.59 on revenues of $1.87 billion. In the same period a year ago, Dollar Tree reported EPS of $0.50 on revenue of $1.72 billion. First-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.57 and $1.87 billion in revenue.

Same-store sales rose 2.1% in the first quarter, a decent showing considering first-quarter sales in 2012 jumped 5.6%. Operating margin rose to 11.6% and gross margin also climbed to 35.2%.

The company guided second-quarter sales in a range of $1.81 to $1.86 billion and EPS at $0.52 to $0.57. Consensus estimates call for Dollar Tree to come in at the top end of both revenue and EPS guidance. The company’s first-quarter results came in within its earlier guidance, so it is not unreasonable to conclude that second-quarter results could be lower than analysts are currently estimating.

For the full year, Dollar Tree now guides revenues at $7.81 to $7.97 billion, again putting in a lower bottom and a somewhat higher top. EPS is guided at $2.61 to $2.77, which is higher than the company’s previous EPS estimate of $2.54 to $2.74. The consensus analysts’ estimates call for full-year revenues of $7.94 billion and EPS of $2.79.

The company’s CEO offered a bit of cheerleading:

Sales continued to grow, our earnings per share increased by 18% and we achieved the highest first-quarter operating margin in the Company’s history. Our stores are executing at a high level and we are well positioned with great assortments and the best values ever for Memorial Day, Graduation and an exciting summer selling season.

Dollar Tree’s shares are up 2.5% in premarket trading this morning, at $49.60 in a 52-week range of $37.12 to $56.81. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $49.20 before today’s results were announced.

Filed under: Retail Tagged: DLTR

Closing Bell for Wednesday on Wall Street: Markets Blunted on Fed Comments, Minutes

Paul Ausick — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:06:21 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened barely higher this morning following a report that mortgage loan applications had fallen by 9.8% from the previous week, on top of a 7% decline for the prior period. In Asia, the Bank of Japan said it would maintain its key interest rate at 0.10% and would increase the country’s monetary base. The eurozone reported a current account surplus of €25.9 billion, far greater than the expected surplus of €15 billion. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before a joint Congressional committee this morning, and that, coupled with a mid-afternoon release of the FOMC minutes sent stocks solidly lower for the last two hours of today’s session.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.55% today, now at 84.3240. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.6% at 631.02. WTI crude oil closed down 2%, at $94.28 a barrel on the first day of trading the July contract and following another large rise in U.S. gasoline inventories. Brent crude trades down 1.4% at $102.51 a barrel. Natural gas is down 0.1% today at about $4.19 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.6% today at $1,370.10.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 80 points to 15,307.56 (-0.52%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 39 points (-1.11%) to 3,463.30, and the S&P 500 fell -0.83% or nearly 14 points to 1,655.35.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

SodaStream International Ltd (NASDAQ: SODA) cut to ‘neutral’ at J.P. Morgan;
Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) cut to ‘neutral’ at HSBC;
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup;
Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) started as ‘outperform’ at BMO Capital Markets; and
Popular Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP) started as ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in some price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today:

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) is up 0.4% at $58.14;
NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) is up 1.2% at $37.05;
American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) is up 1% at $20.51;
Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is up 0.6% at $42.71 after posting a new 52-week high of $43.84 earlier today;
Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) is up 2% at $15.05 after posting a new 52-week high of $15.50 earlier today;;
Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is down 4.6% at $67.96; and
Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) is up 2.8% at $37.00 after posting a new 52-week high of $39.25 earlier today.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD), PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM), SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: SEAS), Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY), Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL), and Stein Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD) is up 15.1% at $6.17 after posting a new 52-week high of $6.54 earlier today. The biopharmaceuticals firm was touted as a likely takeover target.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is up 1.7% at $29.26. The drugmaker said it plans to sell its majority holding in animal drug spinoff Zoetis Inc. (NYSE: ZTS).

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is down 22.9% at $0.99. The solar energy PV maker has sold one of its projects to another company at a steep discount, and the local government of Wuxi province, where Suntech has its main manufacturing plant, has filed a $2.5 billion claim against the company on behalf of more than 500 creditors.

Stay tuned for Thursday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:58 a.m. – Flash PMI manufacturing index
9:00 a.m. – FHFA house price index
10:00 a.m. – New home sales
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
11:00 a.m. – Kansas City Fed manufacturing index
1:00 p.m. – Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AEO, BMY, BPOP, CCL, DLTR, DRYS, GME, HPQ, INTU, LOW, LTD, MNKD, MNST, NTAP, PETM, PFE, RL, SEAS, SMRT, SODA, SPLS, STP, TGT, TOL, WDAY, ZTS

Major Companies That Refuse to Pay Dividends

Jon C. Ogg — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:55:22 +0000

Investors love dividends. This one investing component has comprised a major portion of total returns through time. The trend in recent years has been for companies to pay dividends and keep raising it. At the same time, many companies that have been around for sometime may have grown past their major growth phase. Some of these companies have started paying dividends, while others have chosen not to.

24/7 Wall St. praises dividends. We also want to call out the myriad of great companies that need to realize that times demand investor payouts. A few companies are still buying growth, and we have identified some of these players as well. The thesis behind offering a solid dividend is that it instills confidence in investors that the company has earnings visibility for years even when the business cycle slows.

Having a real dividend policy may also be the key to keeping nervous investors from fleeing and going into cash or Treasury bonds, which pay almost nothing these days. There are just still too many companies in denial that they are still growth companies when they need to start directly rewarding shareholders. Some companies can get away without paying out a single cent to owners because the value of growth is so strong. That list is shrinking these days. Most companies we identified are in what we would call the “Dividend Sinners” category.

Our review focuses on Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A), Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG), Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), Express Scripts Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX), Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), Teradyne Inc. (NYSE: TER), United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA). We have handicapped whether investors might expect a dividend in the near-term or long-term from each of these as well.

The first order of business is to identify some of the great companies that have started paying a dividend since we (and others) have called for them to act with dividend payments in the past year or two. A few would include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) and NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ).

Filed under: Retail Tagged: AAPL, AMGN, AMZN, BBBY, BRK-A, CSCO, DG, DLTR, EA, EBAY, EMC, ESRX, GME, JACK, LUV, MCD, SYMC, TER, UAL, VMW, VZ, WEN, YHOO, ZBRA

Results Good at Big Lots; Forecast Not So Good

Paul Ausick — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:10:51 +0000

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results before markets opened this morning.

The close-out retailer reported quarterly diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.08 on revenues of $1.7 billion. In the same period a year ago, Big Lots reported EPS of $1.83 on revenue of $1.63 billion. Fourth-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $1.98 and $1.75 billion in revenue.

For the full fiscal year, Big Lots posted adjusted EPS of $2.99 on revenues of $5.4 billion. The consensus estimates called for EPS of $2.90 on revenues of $5.4 billion.

For the new fiscal year, the company forecasts adjusted EPS of $3.05 to $3.25 on a sales increase of 2% to 3%. For the first quarter Big Lots expects adjusted EPS of $0.53 to $0.65 on revenue growth of 1% to 3% year-over-year. The consensus estimate for the full year calls for EPS of $3.16 on revenues of $5.56 billion. For the first quarter, the consensus estimate calls for EPS of $0.75 on revenues of $1.33 billion.

In the fourth quarter, U.S. same-store sales fell 3.5%. The company’s Canadian division only broke even in the quarter, which was still better than the $11.4 million loss the division posted in the third quarter.

Big Lots, unlike competitors Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) or Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), depends on traffic to make sales. Declining same-store sales are not a good sign, but today’s results will give the stock a temporary boost. Eventually investors will notice that first quarter guidance is well below the consensus estimate.

Shares are up 3.7% in premarket trading this morning, at $35.15, in a 52-week range of $26.69 to $47.22. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $34.40 before today’s results were announced.

Filed under: Retail Tagged: BIG, DLTR, FDO

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — February 27, 2013: Markets Climb on Mixed Data, News (LNKD, GOOG, VRSN, GTI, NOK, AWK, EIX, PCLN, FSLR, RRC, WFT, DLTR, JOY, SWC, TGT, CECO, CLR, GRPN, GTAT, JCP, LTD, MNST, RGR, PANL, BKS, CVC, KSS, SHLD, FSLR, ZNGA, AH)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:04:03 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning following markets in Europe and Asia, most of which were also pointed higher. In Asia, equities were mostly higher following yesterday’s buoyant session in the U.S. The exception was Japan’s Nikkei, which finished lower on a strengthening yen. In Europe, Italy sold 5- and 10-year debt at higher yields, but the country sold them all. In the U.S., mortgage loans dipped again (more coverage here) and durable goods orders came in below expectations (more coverage here). The report on pending home sales was sharply higher, though, (more coverage here) and helped push stocks higher in advance of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s second day of Congressional testimony.

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.33% today, now at 81.601. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.8% at 653.56, with commodities prices mostly higher today on the weaker dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.1% today, at $92.76 a barrel, following today’s report on inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 0.7% at $111.95 a barrel. Natural gas is down 1% today at about $3.42 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 1.2% today at $1,595.70 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 176 points to 14,076.22 (1.27%), the NASDAQ rose more than 32 points (1.04%) to 3,162.27, and the S&P 500 rose 1.28% or about 19 points to 1,516.032.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) started as ‘buy’ with a $195 price target at Wunderlich (more coverage here); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) raised to ‘buy’ and price target raised to $920 at BofA/Merrill Lynch; VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE: GTI) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs and cut to ‘neutral’ at J.P. Morgan; and Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) raised to ‘buy’ with a $6 price target at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is up 0.1% at $39.46; Edison International (NYSE: EIX) is up 2.6% at $47.31; Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) is up 3.2% at $700.23; Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) is up 4% at $74.21 after posting a new 52-week high of $74.65 earlier today; Weatherford International Ltd. (NYSE: WFT) is up 0.6% at $12.01; Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is up 11.2% at $45.69 (more coverage here); Joy Global Inc. (NYSE: JOY) is up 6.2% at $63.68 (more coverage here); Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC) is up 3.3% at $13.30 (more coverage here); and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is down 1.1% at $63.38 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ: CECO), Continental Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLR), Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN), GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GTAT), J.C. Penney Co Inc. (NYSE: JCP), Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD), Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST), Sturm Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR), Universal Display Corp. (NASDAQ: PANL), Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS), Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) (more coverage here), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), and Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is down 13.7% at $27.07. The solar panel maker reported weak results last night, and dragged the entire sector down today. More coverage here.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is up 4.8% at $3.52. The social game maker is getting yet another boost today following approval of legislation permitting online gambling in New Jersey. More coverage here.

Accretive Health Inc. (NYSE: AH) is down 22.1% at $9.44. The healthcare revenue management firm delayed its fourth quarter earnings report, saying it may change the way it recognizes contract revenues.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Fed Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – GDP
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
9:45 a.m. – Chicago PMI
9:45 a.m. – Bloomberg consumer comfort index
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
11:00 a.m. – Kansas City Fed manufacturing index
3:00 p.m. – Farm prices
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AH, AWK, BKS, CECO, CLR, CVC, DLTR, EIX, FSLR, GOOG, GRPN, GTAT, GTI, JCP, JOY, KSS, LNKD, LTD, MNST, NOK, PANL, PCLN, RGR, RRC, SHLD, SWC, TGT, VRSN, WFT, ZNGA

Dollar Tree Results Beat Estimates, Guidance a Little Soft

Paul Ausick — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:10:24 +0000

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) reported fourth-quarter and full-year results before markets opened this morning.

The discount retailer reported adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter of $1.01 on revenues of $2.25 billion. In the same period a year ago, it reported EPS of $0.80 on revenue of $1.95 billion. This morning’s results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.99 and $2.23 billion in revenue.

For the fiscal year, Dollar Tree posted EPS of $2.68 on revenues of $7.39 billion, better than the consensus estimates for EPS of $2.50 and revenues of $7.35 billion.

The company’s CEO said:

I am pleased with the growth of Dollar Tree’s sales and earnings in the fourth quarter and for the year of 2012. On top of a very strong fourth quarter performance in 2011, average basket size increased and customers responded this year in record numbers.

Same-store sales for the quarter rose 2.4%, on top of a 7.3% increase in the fourth quarter a year ago. The retailer is right to be happy about this year’s gain. For the full year, same-store sales rose 3.4% on top of a 6% gain in 2011.

The one down note is that Dollar Tree’s fiscal year included 53 weeks in 2012, compared with 52 in 2011. Backing out the 53rd week and a one-time gain for the sale of the company’s interest in another firm, Dollar Tree’s full-year EPS totaled $2.44 a share.

The company guided first-quarter EPS at $0.53 to $0.58 and sales at $1.84 billion to $1.89 billion. For the full year, the company forecast EPS in the range of $2.54 to $2.74 on revenues of $7.79 billion to $7.97 billion. The consensus estimates for the first quarter call for EPS of $0.58 on revenues of $1.87 billion. For the full year, the consensus EPS estimate is $2.81 on revenues of $7.9 billion.

Dollar Tree’s shares are up 2.2% in premarket trading this morning, at $42.00 in a 52-week range of $37.12 to $56.81. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $47.65 before today’s results were announced.

Filed under: Retail Tagged: DLTR

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — February 26, 2013: Markets Show a Little Enthusiasm (ADM, LULU, SNDK, YUM, IP, VVUS, HFC, HD, M, MSO, RSH, SKS, TSL, AWK, EIX, PCLN, FSLR, RRC, WFT, DLTR, JOY, SWC, TGT)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:16:38 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning and wobbled around before heading upward for most of the day. Strong home prices and a surge in the consumer confidence index (more coverage here) gave the markets all the push they needed to pay little attention to the Italian election results (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.27% today, now at 81.894. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.1% at 658.64, with commodities prices mixed today on the stronger dollar. WTI crude oil closed down 0.5% today, at $92.63 a barrel, the lowest finish of the year so far. Brent crude trades down 1.6% at $112.64 a barrel. Natural gas is up 0.4% today at about $3.43 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 1.8% today at $1,615.50 an ounce, the largest one-day gain so far this year.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 116 points to 13,900.13 (0.84%), the NASDAQ rose more than 13 points (0.43%) to 3,129.65, and the S&P 500 rose 0.61% or about 9 points to 1,496.94.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) cut to ‘market perform’ at BMO; Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) started as ‘outperform’ at Cowen; SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) raised to ‘outperform’ at RBC; Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) reiterated ‘hold’ but 2013 earnings estimate lowered 15% at Argus; and International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP) started as ‘buy’ at Jefferies.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Vivus Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) is down 12.3% at $10.88 (more coverage here); HollyFrontier Corp. (NYSE: HFC) is down 0.4% at $54.41 (more coverage here); Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) is up 5.7% at $67.54 (more coverage here); Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) is up 2.9% at $39.64 (more coverage here); Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO) is down 5.7% at $2.84; RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) is up 1.3% at $3.09; Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) is up 1.4% at $11.19; and Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) is down 5.6% at $4.22 (more solar coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK), Edison International (NYSE: EIX), First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN), Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC), Weatherford International Ltd. (NYSE: WFT), Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), Joy Global Inc. (NYSE: JOY), Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC), and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT)

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is giving his second-day of semi-annual testimony to the House Financial Services Committee and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
8:30 a.m. – Durable goods orders
10:00 a.m. – Pending home sales
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 7-year note auction

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ADM, AWK, DLTR, EIX, FSLR, HD, HFC, IP, JOY, LULU, M, MSO, PCLN, RRC, RSH, SKS, SNDK, SWC, TGT, TSL, VVUS, WFT, YUM

The Top 20 Must-Watch Earnings for the Week Ahead

Jon C. Ogg — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:03:29 +0000

The week ahead is going to have many key earnings reports. Retail is heavily represented, while technology and banking giants are non-existent. Some of these are stocks which can move big on earnings just alone and others are expected to be sector-influencing stocks that can bleed over into peers. As a reminder, the coming week marks the end of February and brings the start of March.

We have not given detail on every single one but we have given a breakdown or input on those where we have some color to add. The earnings estimates are from Thomson Reuters. We would note that some earnings dates (and the estimates) may change or may have already changed.

As a reminder, retail stocks are complaining about the end of payroll tax holidays on Joe Public and they are also commenting about tax refunds hurting their sales. So far the thought is that this will last one quarter but the verdict is still out on that.

Monday, Feb. 25

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) -$0.56 EPS… This is all about PROVENGE sales rather than earnings and how well the doctors are starting to warm to the drug. Shares are under $6.00 and sales estimates are almost $83 million. For 2013 those estimates are $372 million.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) $0.23 EPS… This will act as a precursor to Home Depot.

Tuesday, Feb. 26

American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) $0.42 EPS… Shares have backed off of the highs by $5 but at $74.50 there is almost $10 of upside to the consensus analyst target price.

American Water Works Co. (NYSE: AWK) $0.32 EPS… This is the largest public water utility in America worth $7 billion now. At $39.66 late Friday it is 0.5% from a new all-time high.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) $1.76 EPS… The solar leader has pulled back more than 5% but at $33.80 it is still over $7 above the consensus analyst price target. As a reminder, 2012 was the peak for revenue and 2011 was the peak for earnings. Expect declines in 2013.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) $0.64 EPS… At $65.65, the analyst price target is only $3 higher.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) $1.99 EPS… Macy’s has pulled back more than 5% to $39.25 and the consensus target is $45.50.

Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) $6.52 EPS… This online travel giant is worth more than most of the airlines combined and at $683 its 52-week high is $774.96 and the consensus price target from analysts is $762.50.

Wednesday, Feb. 27

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) $0.99 EPS… This dollar (more or less) store is down 15% from its peak when valuations became stretched. If the economy is weakening again, the dollar stores might become winners again. That being said, the woes of Wal-Mart overlap the same customers here.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) $0.03 EPS… Wow, a profit expected on a non-GAAP basis. At $5.80 this has more than doubled off of the 2012 lows but its consensus price target is right at $5.75 right now.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) -$0.23 EPS… This remains under a heavy short interest as Ron Johnson’s turnaround was not a straight-line up. Shares have been cut in half from last year’s peak and the $22.40 price is almost $4 over the consensus analyst price.

Sturm Ruger & Co. (NYSE: RGR) $0.82 EPS… Under gun control efforts the guidance will be more than interesting. That being said, the last quarter should show huge gains due to the mad rush of gun buying in the last 90 days.

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) $1.47 EPS

TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) $0.81 EPS

Thursday, Feb. 28

Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) $0.54 EPS… The story that Wall Street cares about is the BN.com sales and the e-book sales. The company is expected to lose money for the April-2013 year at -$1.06 EPS.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) $1.54 EPS… With shares around $17 all that really matters now is the potential buyout. It is too soon to see how the price matching efforts go.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) $0.71 EPS… The turnaround was monumental but has since stalled as far as the continued gains, With a $15 billion market cap that may be a problem.

Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) -$0.31 EPS… The rare earths leader in America is a revenue story right now and sales are expected to be almost $166 million. Losses are expected to grow to -$0.55 EPS for 2013 versus -$0.26 EPS for 2013. We caution that after a capital raise sometimes the analysts do not get their numbers right or they get surprised by the balance sheet changes.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) $0.40 EPS… At a billion-times earnings (over 100-times) it has to beat earnings and sales estimates of $830.8 million AND has to raise guidance. At $170 its 52-week range is $120.18 to $178.91 and the consensus analyst target is $183.62.

The Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) $0.02 EPS… Barron’s recently said the turnaround is real this time (again). Credit Suisse disagrees with the call as its downgrade to Underperform from an already-cautious Neutral hit the stock on Friday. At $5.45 its 52-week range is $4.09 to $5.81 and the consensus analyst target is $5.23.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AMT, AWK, BBY, BKS, CRM, DLTR, DNDN, FSLR, GPS, GRPN, HD, JCP, LOW, M, MCP, PCLN, RGR, TGT, TJX, WEN