24/7 Wall St.

As we are now less than a week away from Christmas, retail shopping has picked up, as well as the e-commerce business. Overall the broad markets have had a relatively weak year, and it has been reflected in quite a few companies. At this time of the year we turn our heads to retail, to look for a “Santa Clause Rally,” but this year old Saint Nick and his rally might not come to town.

24/7 Wall Street has picked out a few retailers that have whiffed this season and contributed to the sliding broad markets. We explore whether a company had earnings that fell short, a failed merger or missed guidance that were contributing factors to their dismal performance. We also have included a recent trading history, 52-week range and consensus analyst price target.

For a broader perspective on retail, 24/7 Wall St. also explored whether Super Saturday could save the holiday shopping season.

Pier 1 Imports

Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) collapsed when it reported earnings on Thursday. The company had $0.13 in earnings per share (EPS) on $472.5 million in revenue. That compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.12 in EPS on revenue of $494.6 million. In terms of guidance, the company expects EPS in the range of $0.42 to $0.46, below the previous guidance of $0.56 to $0.64, for the fiscal full year. Pier 1 also expects comparable sales to be flat for the year. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.58 and $1.90 billion in revenue for the fiscal full year.

Shares of Pier 1 were trading at $4.80 on Friday’s close, with a consensus analyst price target of $6.53 and a 52-week trading range of $4.55 to $17.52. Over the past quarter this stock dropped about 50%, and year to date it is down 68%.

24/7 Wall St.
The Best Big Conglomerate Stock for 2016