CHICAGO, Dec. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include the L Brands, Inc. (NYSE:LB-Free Report), The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE-Free Report), Zumiez, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZUMZ-Free Report), The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS-Free Report) and J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP-Free Report).
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Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:
Little to Cheer About This Holiday Season
The November retail sales data were released at a moment when the economy is exposed to a mixed bag of events. At one end, the latest report from Labor Department indicated that initial claims for jobless aid has fallen 23,000 to 298,000; on the other hand, consumer sentiment is showing a negative inclination. Again, the unemployment rate declined to a five-year low of 7% in November, but comparable-store sales for the month came below expectation.
Early-hour store openings, huge discounts, promotional activities and free shipping on online purchases were not enough to drive in cautious, budget-constrained consumers to the shop; thus hinting of a tough holiday season for retailers. Consumer confidence appears to have taken a hit as a result of the political impasse in Washington DC. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell drastically to 70.4 in Nov 2013, following a sharp dip to 72.4 in October.
As of now, the November sales results have somewhat muted expectations for a strong holiday season performance. According to Thomson Reuters, comparable-store sales edged up 1.9% in November, significantly lower than the projected increase of 2.7%. The International Council of Shopping Centers reveals that comparable-store sales rose 2.1% for the same period.
Data compiled by Swampscott, Massachusetts-based Retail Metrics suggested that comparable-store sales climbed 1.9% instead of 2.9% growth forecast, and decelerated drastically from a 4% increase registered in October.
According to National Retail Federation (NRF), the survey performed by Prosper Insights & Analytics revealed that sales on the Thanksgiving weekend dropped 2.7% to $57.4 billion from $59.1 billion in the year-ago period. This further validates the belief that holiday season has little to cheer about so far and the November comps give a glimpse of a challenging season.
L Brands, Inc. (NYSE:LB-Free Report), a specialty retailer of women's intimate and other apparel, beauty and personal care products, disappointed with its comparable-store sales performance that fell 5%. November comps for The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE-Free Report), the retailer of casual apparels, footwear and accessories dropped 0.6%, while that of Zumiez, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZUMZ-Free Report), specialty retailer of action sports related apparel, footwear and accessories, posted lower-than-expected comps growth of 1.7%.
However, The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS-Free Report) outperformed analysts' expectation by posting comps growth of 2%, while J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP-Free Report), who has been in troubled waters for quite some time is gradually making a comeback as its comparable-store sales results for the month of November surged 10.1%, despite consumer spending pressure.
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