In this episode of Industry Focus: Consumer Goods, Motley Fool analysts Asit Sharma and Emily Flippen break down two recent retail earnings reports and discuss how the businesses are performing, their expectations for the future, and where they’ve each gone wrong in their past analysis.
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This video was recorded on August 31, 2021.
Emily Flippen: Welcome to Industry Focus. Today is Tuesday, August 31st, and I’m the host of this episode, Emily Flippen. Today I’m joined by Motley Fool Senior Analyst Asit Sharma as we talk about some retail earnings news. Hey, Asit, thanks for joining.
Asit Sharma: Emily, thanks for having me. I must say this morning, I’m in a sporting mood.
Flippen: It’s a good pun for what we’re going to talk about, and for our listeners who listen to both Industry Focus as well as one of our other podcasts and Motley Fool Money may be at least for our first story here, a little bit repetitive. That’s because I covered this story on Motley Fool Money last week and was reminded that I probably owed our Industry Focus audience an apology on this business, which I roasted, I guess, last year. Around this time, last year I did pull Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) across the coals, and I’ll tell you one thing: if 2021 has taught me something, it’s taught me how to be very humble, because Dick’s has performed extremely well this year.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own For 2023: Vera Bradley Inc.(VRA)
Vera Bradley, Inc., through its subsidiary, Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., engages in the design, production, marketing, and retail of functional accessories for women under the ?Vera Bradley? brand. Its products include a range of handbags, accessories, and travel and leisure items. The company sells its products to independent retailers located in the United States, as well as to national retailers and third party e-commerce sites. As of January 29, 2011, Vera Bradley, Inc. sold its products directly through 35 full-price stores, 4 outlet stores, verabradley.com, and an annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Steve Symington]
As for individual stocks, Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) popped after bringing on a promising new strategic advisor, while Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) soared on a strong quarterly report.
- [By Garrett Baldwin]
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Finally, oil prices pushed higher Wednesday thanks to a dip in exports out of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. As we’ve noted, the Saudi government is looking to press crude prices higher by reducing OPEC output and limiting shipments to Asia. Those cuts come as economic sanctions continue to weigh on the Venezuelan oil market. The United States imported 500,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude in November 2018, but sanctions will dry up that flow of oil to the United States. With oil prices set to rise in the coming months, we’ve identified the top energy stock to buy in March. Best of all, it’s under $10 per share.
Stocks to Watch Today: EXPR, BA, TSLA
Shares of Express Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPR) are off more than 13% this morning after the retail firm issued extremely weak guidance before the bell Wednesday. Although the retail firm topped EPS estimates, it reported a 6% drop in same-store sales to complement a decline in revenue. The firm called its earnings report “disappointing” and listed a series of other challenges that face the company in 2019. Just don’t buy the stock. Shares of Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) were off in pre-market hours as the global aviation giant continued to reel from last weekend’s Ethiopia Air crash. Countries around the globe are grounding Boeing Air MAX 9 jets until further maintenance and updates are provided by the company. China, Australia, Indonesia, and the European Union have grounded Air 737 MAX 8 flights, and investors are worried that the second crash in five months for one of these planes will cause a delay in orders. BA stock is off 11% in the last two days. Shares of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) were off in pre-market hours thanks to a negative investor report from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS). Goldman issued a “Sell” rating for the stock and projected a weaker price for TSLA stock over concerns about fa - [By Timothy Green]
Shares of Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) soared on Wednesday following a fourth-quarter report that beat expectations. The fashion specialist’s revenue and earnings came in ahead of analyst estimates, and its full-year guidance was better than expected. As of 11:55 a.m. EDT, the stock was up about 19.9%.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own For 2023: Stage Stores, Inc.(SSI)
Stage Stores, Inc. operates as a specialty department store retailer in small and mid-sized towns and communities in the United States. Its merchandise portfolio comprises moderately priced brand name and private label apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and home goods. The company also offers merchandise direct-to-consumer through its e-commerce Website and send program. As of January 30, 2016, it operated 834 specialty department stores in 39 states and a direct-to-consumer channel under the BEALLS, GOODY’S, PALAIS ROYAL, PEEBLES, and STAGE nameplates. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Keith Noonan]
Shares of Frontier Communications (NASDAQ:FTR) stock rose 52.5%% in February, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Despite last month’s big gains, the stock is down roughly 67% over the last year.
- [By Daniel B. Kline]
Frontier Communications (NASDAQ:FTR) has gone from being a dumpster fire to more of a tire fire. That may sound like a negative, but it’s actually an accomplishment for management, which has prevented the company from burning out quickly and moved it into a more controlled decline.
- [By Max Byerly]
Frontier Communications (NASDAQ:FTR)’s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Wednesday. They currently have a $3.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 1.35% from the company’s previous close.
- [By Chris Lange]
When Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR) released its most recent quarterly results after the markets closed on Tuesday, the firm said that it had a net loss of $0.06 per share and $2.12 billion in revenue. That compares with consensus estimates of a net loss of $0.04 per share and $2.09 billion in revenue, as well as the −$0.59 per share and $2.22 billion reported in the fourth quarter of last year.
Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own For 2023: Health Insurance Innovations, Inc.(HIIQ)
Health Insurance Innovations, Inc. operates as a developer, distributor, and administrator of cloud-based individual health and family insurance plans, and supplemental products in the United States. The company offers short-term medical plans that cover individuals for up to 364 days with various co-pay and deductible options; hospital indemnity plans, which provide a daily cash benefit for hospital treatment and doctor office visits, as well as accidental injury and death or dismemberment benefits; and supplemental insurance products comprising pharmacy benefit cards, dental plans, vision plans, and cancer/critical illness plans, as well as deductible and gap protection plans, and life insurance policies. It designs and structures insurance and non-insurance products on behalf of insurance carriers; and markets them to individuals through a network of distributors. Health Insurance Innovations, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is based in Tampa, Florida.
