Cost Plus, Inc. (CPWM) - Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers

Cost Plus, Inc. (CPWM) had a pretty good holiday season, generating sales of $295.5 million as announced earlier this month. That result beat year-ago sales of $277.5 million.

More importantly though, same-store sales for the nine-week period were 7.4%, compared to 7% last year.

Since then, earnings estimates for this specialty retailer of casual home living have moved higher, underscoring its Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy). CPWM has also enjoyed an upgrade from a brokerage firm recently.

And on Monday, it began the week as a Zacks #1 Rank Top Performer with a gain of practically 6%. Meanwhile, volume was almost 600,000, compared to the daily average of around 220,000.

The past 30 days have seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for this fiscal year advance to 65 cents per share, marking a 3.2% gain from 63 cents. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fiscal year ending January 2013 has moved 4.3% in that time to 98 cents.

At the moment, analysts are expecting profit growth of more than 50% from next fiscal year over this fiscal year.

However, the most direct reason behind the upward earnings estimates is not so much the sales figures, but the outlook that CPWM offered. The company said it is confident of meeting or surpassing the high end of its fourth-quarter and full-year 2011 sales and earnings guidance.

The fiscal fourth-quarter is not expected to be announced until March. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the period is currently $1.48 per share. As with the annual estimates, the result has improved in the past 30 days; it has increased by 2% in that time.