J. C. Penney to Outperform - Analyst Blog
April 18 2011 - 9:45AM
Zacks
We maintain our long-term
Outperform recommendation on J. C. Penney Company
Inc. (JCP) which is one of the
leading retailers of apparel and footwear, accessories, fashion
jewelry, beauty products and home furnishings.
J. C. Penney’s well
diversified supplier base, compelling private and national brands,
marketing campaigns, point-of-sale technology initiatives as well
as effective cost and inventory management should bode well for
sales and margin trends over the long term. The company also
remains on track to deliver comparable-store sales growth and boost
market share.
Earlier, the company had
posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2010 results. The
quarterly earnings of $1.23 per share handily beat the Zacks
Consensus Estimate of $1.07, and shot up 20.6% from $1.02 earned in
the prior-year quarter. Total sales of $5,703 million also came
ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,638 million, and rose
2.8% from the year-ago quarter.
Comparable-store sales
jumped 4.5% during the quarter, beating management’s own target of
3% to 4% growth. J. C. Penney’s addition of ‘Liz Claiborne’, ‘MNG
by Mango’ and ‘Call it Spring’ brands to its portfolio helped drive
sales and improve traffic.
The Plano, Texas-based
retailer, J. C. Penney has projected comparable-store sales growth
between 3% and 5% for the first quarter and in the low-to-mid
single-digit range for fiscal 2011.
The in-store Sephora
departments continue to attract younger and more affluent
customers. These are part of J.C. Penney's strategy to gain
competitive advantage over drug stores, which have given their
cosmetic sections a facelift in recent years.
The company now targets 76
Sephora shops in fiscal 2011, expecting it to be a significant
revenue driver. The company also hinted at making ‘MNG by Mango’
and ‘Call it Spring’ brands available in approximately 500 J. C.
Penney stores by the end of 2011.
The company has been
focusing on remodeling, renovating and refurbishing its stores in
order to enhance customers’ shopping experience. To that end, it
also refreshes its website functionality, keeping in mind the
continued migration to online shopping.
We remain confident about
J. C. Penney’s top-line growth based on compelling new merchandise
and the launch of JCP Rewards program. Management guided total
sales growth in the low single-digit range and earnings between
$2.00 and $2.10 for fiscal 2011.
J. C. Penney, which
competes with Macy’s Inc.
(M) and
Kohl’s
Corporation (KSS), holds a Zacks #1 Rank
translating into a short-term ‘Strong Buy’
recommendation.
PENNEY (JC) INC (JCP): Free Stock Analysis Report
KOHLS CORP (KSS): Free Stock Analysis Report
MACYS INC (M): Free Stock Analysis Report
Zacks Investment Research
Kohls (NYSE:KSS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Kohls (NYSE:KSS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024