By Andria Cheng
Retail stocks rose Wednesday after Target Corp., BJ's Wholesale
Club Inc. and other retailers posted better-than-expected
first-quarter results, giving some hope of a turn for the better in
the recession-battered industry.
Target (TGT) shares jumped 4.7% to $43.89. The No. 2 U.S.
discount retailer said Wednesday that its first-quarter profit fell
a much less-than-expected 13% after the company controlled expenses
and inventory to offset declines in discretionary spending.
The results came at a time when Target is in the midst of an
intense proxy contest with activist investor Bill Ackman of
Pershing Square Capital Management. Top proxy-advisory firms
RiskMetrics and Glass Lewis differed in their opinions Tuesday
regarding how shareholders should vote.
BJ's (BJ) stock climbed 1% to $38.42. The wholesale club chain
said net income rose to $24.3 million, or 45 cents a share, from
$17.2 million, or 29 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.
Revenue at the Natick, Mass.-based retailer rose 0.2% to $2.26
billion. Comparable club sales dropped 1.5% and would have risen by
7.5% without the impact of lower gasoline sales as a result of
lower oil prices.
Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 41 cents a share on
revenue of $2.29 billion, according to a survey by FactSet
Research. For the year ending Jan. 30, 2010, BJ's forecast profit
of $2.44 to $2.54 a share, ahead of its earlier view of $2.42 a
share to $2.52 a share.
Women's clothing retailer Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (ANN) shares
fell 0.5% to $8.91. It swung to a first-quarter loss of $2.31
million, or 4 cents a share, from profit of $25.9 million, or 43
cents, a year earlier. Sales fell to $426.7 million from $591.7
million. The company said it expects second-quarter sales to "again
remain under significant pressure," primarily at its Ann Taylor
chain. Analysts, on average, estimated the company to lose 15 cents
a share on sales of $457.2 million, according to FactSet.
The S&P Retail Index (RLX) gained 1.6% to 332.93.
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) rose 4.4%. The Circuit Court of Cook
County, Illinois certified a plaintiff class in lawsuits alleging
that customers' personal, private, and confidential financial
information was disclosed for profit by Sears to certain
third-party vendors contrary to the representations and obligations
to its credit card holders.
-Andria Cheng; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com
Order free Annual Report for Sears Holdings
Visit http://djnewswires.ar.wilink.com/?link=SHLD or call
1-888-301-0513