Posts for Ticker ‘TJX’

Top Analyst Upgrades (AFL, AMX, GLW, KOF, GIS, HIG, TIF, TJX)

These are this Tuesday morning’s top pre-market analyst upgrades, initiations, or relatively positive research calls from Wall Street:

AFLAC (NYSE: AFL) Raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
America Movil (NYSE: AMX) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Corning (NYSE: GLW) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE: KOF) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
General Mills (NYSE: GIS) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley
Hartford Financial (NYSE: HIG) Started as Buy at UBS.
Tiffany (NYSE: TIF) Started as Buy at Citigroup
TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) Raised to Conviction Buy List (was Buy) at Goldman Sachs.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week for reminders of the top day trader alerts, analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO’s, key secondary offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 6, 2009

Posted on: October 6, 2009 – 8:03 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Top Anlayst Upgrades (CAH, CENT, CHS, GPS, HELE, PFG, STEC, TJX)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst comments and analyst upgrades from Wall Street early this Tuesday morning:

Cardinal Health (CAH) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Central Garden (CENT) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
Chico’s FAS (CHS) Raised to Equal Weight at Barclays.
Gap Inc. (GPS) Raised to Equal Weight at Barclays.
Helen of Troy (HELE) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
Principal Financial (PFG) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
STEC (STEC) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
TJX Cos. (TJX) Raised to Overweight at Barclays; Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: May 12, 2009 – 6:33 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Ten Women Who Should Be Big Company CEOs

jp-morganTwelve of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women. Just twelve. Over the next year, that number is likely to go up considerably because of a confluence of economic and financial factors that have not existed in years. The first of those is that because of the economy there will probably be higher turnover rates of chief executives at large companies. Next, there are a relatively large number of extremely talented women in the tier of senior management just below the CEO level.  Many of these women who are in the No.2 or No.3 spots at their firms are the same age or older than their current CEOs.  It is then very unlikely that they will become CEO at their current firm. Read More »

Posted on: May 6, 2009 – 8:46 pm in Airlines, Banking, Management Change, Retail, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March’s Retail Winners (BKE, FRED, GYMB, HOTT, JCP, TJX)

money-stack-image20We are still seeing overall weak trends in the retail sector.  This is no shock based upon the overall drop in the economy and the growing army of unemployed workers out there.  But there are  some retail winners out there.  Companies such as Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE), Fred’s Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED), Gymboree Corp. (NASDAQ: GYMB), Hot Topic (NASDAQ: HOTT), J.C. Penney Company (NYSE: JCP), and The TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX)  posted strong March same-store sales.
Read More »

Posted on: April 9, 2009 – 8:13 am in Apparel, Retail, Trading Alert, , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (STD, DVN, ELN, RIMM, TJX, VOD)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen early this Friday morning:

Banco Santander (STD) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Devon Energy (DVN) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Elan (ELN) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Piper Jaffray.
Research in Motion (RIMM) Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank; Raised to Outperform at CIBC; estimates and price targets adjusted higher by at least 5 other firms so far this morning.
TJX Cos. (TJX) Started as Outperform at RBC.
Vodafone (VOD) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: April 3, 2009 – 6:55 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , ,

Bargain Shoppers Driving TJX In More Ways Than One (TJX)

Tjx_cos_logoThe soft economy is actually driving some retail winners, and it isn’t really the old analogy of just the wealthy doing well.  The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) is putting in new all-time highs this morning.  Before today, shares of TJX had seen highs of $36.95, yet shares are trading north of $37.00 and the prior 52-week trading range had been $25.49 to $36.95.

Read More »

Posted on: August 11, 2008 – 9:17 am in Apparel, HI/LOW, Retail,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (ADP, T, BA, CTL, CMG, CTXS, COST, MCD, SWIR, TCB, TJX)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst Downgrades and negative calls we are seeing this Thursday Morning:

  • Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • AT&T (T) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Boeing (BA) Cut to Neutral at Cowen & Co.
  • CenturyTel (CTL) Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
  • Citrix Systems (CTXS) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
  • Costco Wholesale (COST) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • McDonald’s (MCD) Cut to Hold at Deutsche bank.
  • Sierra Wireless (SWIR) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies and cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
  • TCF Financial (TCB) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley
  • TJX Companies (TJX) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Jon C. Ogg
July 24, 2008

Posted on: July 24, 2008 – 6:36 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

TJX Beats, But… (TJX)

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) did beat estimates this morning and showed that discounters and clearance merchandise retailers that get it can do well in a slowing economy.  Unfortunately, its guidance is only in-line ahead for a company where many were hoping for better results.  There is nothing really bad or anything, it just looks more representative of a fairly valued stock at a time when the stock market is trying to decide its direction.

Net income for the first quarter was $194 million, and diluted earnings per share were $0.43 compared to $0.34 last year; Q1 net sales rose 6% to $4.4 billion on a consolidated comparable store sales increased 3% over last year.  After a tax benefit adjustment, TJX would have posted earnings of $0.41 EPS, compared to an adjusted $0.37 last year.  First Call had estimates at $0.40 EPS on $4.38 Billion in revenues.

The company sees EPS guidance at $0.40 to $0.42 EPS for the coming quarter based upon a 3% comparable store sales gain.  For fiscal Jan-2009 it sees $2.20 to $2.25 EPS, but this range includes a $0.09 share benefit due to a 53rd week in the retail year; and that is based upon a 2% to 3% comparable store growth, of which about 0.5% is due to currency.  Next quarter estimates are $0.43 EPS and fiscal Jan-2009 estimates are $2.22 EPS.

TJX also spent $225 million buying back shares of common stock, which retired 7 million shares.

Jon C. Ogg
May 13, 2008

Posted on: May 13, 2008 – 8:04 am in Earnings, Retail,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AAPL, AMAT, BMC, COLM, SCOR, KLAC, NVLS, TJX, SONC, TIN)

These are the top analyst calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on this Monday morning:

  • Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Raised to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
  • Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) Cut To Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • BMC Software (NYSE: BMC) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ: COLM) Cut to Sell From Hold at Citigroup.
  • ComScore(NASDAQ: SCOR) Raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  • KLA Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) Raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Novellus Systems (NASDAQ: NVLS) Raised to Equal-weight from Underweight By Lehman.
  • TJX (NYSE: TJX) Cut to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.
  • Sonic (NASDAQ: SONC) Started as Overweight at Lehman Brothers.
  • Temple-Inland (NYSE: TIN) Raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

Jon C. Ogg
April 7, 2008

Posted on: April 7, 2008 – 6:56 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Jim Cramer’s Stimulus Package & Turnaround Stocks

On tonight’s MAD MONEY on CNBC, Jim Cramer noted that selling stocks today isn’t a good idea and that this will be good for retail stocks and others too.  You have to keep in mind the same-store-sales as the key metric, but here are his retail names he went through:

  • In retail, Cramer likes Guess? (NYSE: GES), J.Crew (NYSE: JCG), Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW), Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ), Jones Apparel (NYSE: JNY), Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST), TJX Corp. (NYS: TJX), Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN)… and he likes Darden (NYSE: DRI) in restaurants. 

Cramer actually talked positive about one homebuilder and a mortgage player:

  • Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) will actually be a winner on the higher GSE increase in the conforming loan price cap.  In mortgages the increase in the cap will help Thornburg Mortgages (NYSE: TMA). 

He thinks that takeovers are coming, and he is under the impression that Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) may actually get taken over after a huge drop.  He thinks it is just too valuable to others.  Just FYI, Cramer did discuss this Bear Stearns takeover possibility on TheStreet.com earlier this morning or this afternoon.  In short, he thinks that this might merit a reason to stop being so cynical.  He wants to buy something in retail and something in banking. 

Last week Cramer went value fishing for technology companies that he thought were either overlooked during the meltdown or that had been oversold.  Here were his picks in technology:

Jon C. Ogg
January 24, 2008

Posted on: January 24, 2008 – 6:22 pm in Cramer, Turnarounds, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cramer Calls A Bottom & Gives Play Book Picks (C, CVS, COST, GES, JCG, IBM, DD)

On tonight’s MAD MONEY on CNBC, Jim Cramer said emphatically that the huge drop today followed by the monster rally in the same day is a classic bottoming pattern, although he thinks that the move was too quick and he wouldn’t be surprised if we pull back over the next couple of days.  When you see the action like this the financial stocks and the retailers that have been the most bettered become the best places to jump in.  Here are his play book picks from retail stocks and financial stocks as the sector rotation trades comes into play:

  • Cramer went out and said he believes that Citigroup (NYSE: C) has actually bottomed. 
  • The retail stocks aren’t just bought by short covering trades, and he thinks that is real buying.  The companies he speedily announced that he likes are CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS), Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), Guess? (NYSE: GES), and J. Crew Group (NYSE: JCG). 

He also wants to pick stocks with no earnings risk that have already pre-announced better earnings:

  • IBM (NYSE: IBM) and DuPont (NYSE: DD) are his two picks that are the safest industrials to buy on pullbacks during the bottoming cycle.  Both pulled back but they’d both be higher if the market had been normal.  he wants to buy these on pullbacks.

Last week Cramer went value fishing for technology companies that he thought were either overlooked during the meltdown or that had been oversold.  Here were his picks then:

Jon C. Ogg
January 23, 2008

Posted on: January 23, 2008 – 6:26 pm in Cramer, Financial Stocks, Retail, , , , , , , ,

Pre-Market Stock News (January 23, 2008)

We are full fledged into earnings season now, so most news coverage will point to the current earnings environment and guidance.  There are of course drug developments and other contracts awards.  Below is a snapshot of some of the key data we saw affecting shares in pre-market trading:

  • Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $0.93 EPS versus $0.92 estimate; sees Q1 EPS $0.61 to $0.63 versus $0.65 estimates and sees 2008 EPS $3.20 to $3.25 versus $3.22 estimate.
  • Advanced Energy Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: AEIS) traded down over 10% after after it lowered guidance.
  • Air Products (APD) $1.16 EPS vs $1.13 estimates. 
  • Apple Inc. (AAPL) trading down 10% after it posted $1.76 EPS on $9.6 Billion revenues; Estimates were $1.62 EPS on revenues of $9.47 Billion; Guidance for next quarter is $0.94 EPS and revenues $6.8 Billion versus estimates of $1.09 EPS on $6.98 Billion in revenues.
  • Baidu.com (BIDU) announces the formal launch of its Japanese language search engine run by its Japanese subsidiary.
  • CheckPoint Software (CHKP) trading up almost 5% after $0.46 EPS versus $0.45 est.; Revenues $206.7M vs. $202.3M est.;
  • CNH Global (CNH) $0.50 EPS versus $0.60 estimate.
  • Coach (COH) $0.69 EPS vs $0.68 estimate; noted weak mall traffic and decline in average transaction size.
  • EntreMed (ENMD) is starting its Phase II study with its MKC-1 cell cycle inhibitor in ovarian cancer and advanced endometrial cancer.
  • Ethan Allen (ETH) posted $0.70 EPS versus $0.68 estimate.
  • Foster Wheeler (FWLT) trades ex-split to reflect a 2 for 1 stock split.
  • General Dynamics (GD) $1.42 EPS vs. $1.41 estimate; sees 2008 EPS $5.55 to $5.65 versus $5.73 estimate.
  • HOKU Scientific Inc. (HOKU) traded down 10% after earnings beat but guidance was deemed light.
  • INX (INXI) awarded Department of Defense contract to provide up to $21 million in support  of a Cisco Systems network pact.
  • Martek Biosciences (MATK) noted a December publication showed its DHA may help in late-onset Alzheimer’s, although NIH study results will be in 2010.
  • Parametric (PMTC) $0.26 EPS vs. $0.23 estimate; sees next quarter $0.24 to $0.28 vs. $0.26 estimate; sees 2008 EPS $1.17 to $1.27 vs. $1.16 estimate (revenue in-line).
  • Praxair (PX) $0.98 EPS vs $0.97 estimate.
  • Qualcomm (QCOM) expanded relationship with Motorola for chipsets into certain UMTS 3G handsets in 2008 and 2009.
  • RLI Corp. (RLI) $1.22 EPS versus $1.05 estimate.
  • Rockwell Automation (ROK) $1.04 EPS vs. $1.01 estimates; guides 200 EPS $4.25 to $4.45 versus $4.38 estimate.
  • Southwest Airlines (LUV) $0.12 EPS vs. $0.10 estimate ; reigned in 2008 growth plans to 4%-5% capacity.
  • Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) has posted earnings of $0.54 EPS and revenues of $3.56 Billion; analysts pegged at $0.52 EPS on $3.58 Billion in revenues; sees Next quarter $0.43 to $0.49 EPS on revenues of $3.27 to $3.55 Billion versus estimates of $0.45 EPS on $3.41 Billion in revenues.
  • TJX Companies (TJX) was Jim Cramer’s retail pick on CNBC’s MAD MONEY last night.
  • United Tech (UTX) $1.08 EPS vs. $1.06 estimate; sees 2008 $4.65 to $4.85 versus $4.85 estimate.
  • Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) will begin Phase III evaluation of telaprevir for its lead investigational hepatitis C protease inhibitor.
  • WellPoint (WLP) $1.51 EPS versus $1.51 estimate.
  • Werner Enterprises (WERN) $0.28 EPS vs. $0.28 estimate.

Jon C. Ogg
January 23, 2008

Posted on: January 23, 2008 – 7:58 am in Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ladies Night With Jim Cramer (TJX)

On tonight’s MAD MONEY on CNBC, this was actually a Ladies night where he was in front a live audience full of nothing but… ladies.  He discussed the Fed coming in with the emergency cut and how we would likely have seen a 1,000 point drop today (as we noted a 1,000 point drop was likely without an emergency intervention).  He started out with a Q&A session but he he was giving a retail stock pick that is appropriate in this environment.

Cramer noted retail worked today rather than the defensive stock picks because of retailers being hopefully helped by a rate cut all the way out to the end of this year.  In this environment in a serious economic slowdown his retailer pick that may go up regardless of the Fed is TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) because of the discount stores T.J.Maxx and Marshall’s brand.  As these stores discount mid to high-end apparel they showed a positive number in same-store-sales for December when most retail sales were weak.  Cramer also likes the CEO as a transformational CEO that will do even better when the economy is doing better.  It has also bought back $650 million in stock and can buy back $250 million more.

If you have ever gone into one of these stores with your intimate other or on your own, you know what a zoo these can be.  Shares closed up almost 3% at $29.71 today in normal trading and shares were up almost 2% more after Cramer touted this one.  TJX has traded as low as $25.49 and as high as $32.46 over the last 52-weeks.

Jon C. Ogg
January 22, 2008

Posted on: January 22, 2008 – 6:25 pm in Apparel, Cramer, Retail,

Macy’s: Growth Through Closures.. Expect Others To Follow (M, KSS, SHLD, TJX, JCP)

In a slowing retail environment, Macy’s (NYSE: M) has decided it’s time to close some stores.  This may not sound like a great ‘growth strategy’ for a retailer, but some companies reach the size that sometimes growth has to occur during actual contraction.  It has slated 9 stores to be closed. 

Macy’s isn’t stopping all growth plans, although if this review gets sharper it could lead to a flat store count through time. It opened 10 new stores and one furniture gallery in 2007. In 2008, Macy’s expects to open five stores, with an additional six to eight new locations currently planned for 2009.  Macy’s currently operates more than 850 department stores, so this is a small drop in the bucket and will only have a limited impact in longer-term sales models.

Below are the nine stores getting the boot:

  • Washington Square in Indianapolis, IN (opened in 1974);
  • Prien Lake Mall in Lake Charles, LA (opened in 2003);
  • Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, OH (opened in 1978);
  • Canton Centre in Canton, OH (opened in 1968);
  • Randall Park Mall in North Randall, OH (opened in 1976);
  • Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City, OK (opened in 1986);
  • Valley View Center in Dallas, TX (opened in 1973);
  • Sharpstown Center in Houston, TX (opened in 1961);
  • Family Center at Riverdale in Riverdale, UT (opened in 2003).

I don’t know if these other stores are in good areas that are just being used for cost cutting, but if you have ever been to Sharpstown Mall in Houston you might not doubt why the company is pulling out.

It sure sounds like Macy’s may have something in common with winter skinny dippers: shrinkage.  But in all honesty and joking aside, Macy’s may actually need to review even more stores for possible closure if the performance or the retail environment continue to soften.  With their stock hitting 52-week lows you can expect reviews to be stricter and tighter in a weak 2008.

This may have other ramifications in the retail superstore centers and mall operators.  There are many redundant stores in major cities and many geographic locations throughout the country that just aren’t worth the effort for some retailers to continue in.  If you want to try to guess who else may start the downsizing of underperforming stores in a weaker economy take a look at the competitors:

  • Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) operated 834 stores as of the end of last quarter.
  • Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD), as of February 2007, operated many more stores than Macy’s and we know Eddie Lampert wants to start making money again on his investment.
  • TJX (NYSE: TJX), as of November 2007, operated 851 T.J.Maxx stores, 778 Marshalls, 287 HomeGoods, 130 A.J.Wrights in the U.S. alone with others located elsewhere in Canada and Europe.
  • J.C.Penney (NYSE: JCP) as of November 2007, had more than 1,000 stores in the U.S. territory.

If this gets Macy’s off that 52-week low club, it’s hard to imagine that other department store operators won’t follow suite with selective closures in the 1% to 2% area.

Jon C. Ogg
December 28, 2007

Posted on: December 28, 2007 – 2:12 pm in Retail, , , , ,

Retail Sales In August Not On Life Support

Just yesterday and the day before, the tone was looking to be that sub-prime fallout and the recent tightening on credit was helping to squash Joe Q. Consumer in the U.S.  Yesterday, CostCo (COST) shares were hit hard on a big miss in same store sales gains.  J.C.Penney (JCP) just yesterday also gave -4% s-s-s, although that was a tad better than the -5% estimate.

But this morning both Wal-Mart (WMT) and Target (TGT) beat sales same store sales expectations with +3.1% and +6.1% respectively.  Take a look at these other same store sales (s-s-s) numbers from some of the larger chain retailers:

Saks (SKS) s-s-s +18.2% vs. +9.2% estimates.  This is the s-s-s winner, by far.  Shares are up over 4% pre-market and still only about 10% above 52-week stock lows.  At $16.00 pre-market, this is well under the $23.25 yearly high.

Nordstrom (JWN) +6.6% s-s-s vs. +6.3% estimates.

TJX (TJX), the owner of discounter TJMAXX and Marshall’s, posted +4% s-s-s vs. 3.8% estimates.

NEGATIVES:

Kohl’s (KSS) s-s-s -0.6% compared to +2.7% estimates.

Dillard’s (DDS) s-s-s were -5%, compared to -2.9% estimates.

Gap Inc. (GPS) s-s-s were -1%, although analysts were looking for -2%.

These are just a snapshot, but regardless of the overall estimates it does not appear that Joe Q. Consumer is dead.  It seems every time that the consumer is ruled dead on arrival that he or she pops up again.  This doesn’t even look like zombie mode either.

The biggest example of the sector winning today is the key ETF used to measure the group with the ML RETAIL HOLDRs (RTH), with shares up over 1% pre-market.

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he produces the 24/7 Wall St. SPECIAL SITUATION INVESTING NEWSLETTER and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: September 6, 2007 – 8:12 am in Retail, , , , , , , , , ,