Analyst action: Clarcor, CVS, SunTrust
Posted on November 20, 2009 at 10:42 amBB&T analyst Kevin Maczka on Thursday raised his rating on shares of Clarcor (Ticker: CLC) from ‘hold’ to ‘buy.’ His target price for the Franklin-based filtration and packaging company is $40, 27 percent above its Wednesday close.
Two stocks with a local presence have also received votes of confidence. At Credit Suisse, Craig Siegenthaler has lifted his target for SunTrust (Ticker: STI) to $23 from $21, while UBS analyst Neil Currie has started covering CVS Caremark (Ticker: CVS) with a ‘buy’ rating and a $34 target.
permalink | Comment on this post
Does this mean we’ll see a softer, nicer Captain D’s?
Posted on November 19, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Despite having generated some serious buzz earlier this year with an ad campaign sticking it to Red Lobster, Captain D’s is close to picking a new advertising agency. No locally based creative types are in the running for the account, which is estimated to be worth $15 million per year.
SEE ALSO: irefusetoceaseanddesist.com
permalink | Comment on this post
The old way to invest in Dollar General
Posted on at 11:49 amGimme Credit analyst Evan Mann says Dollar General should continue to generate ample cash to invest in growth and improve its debt ratios. Because of that, investors would do well to buy the company’s subordinated debt, which has risen from $80 to $110 in the past year and comes due in 2017. Meanwhile, the company’s newly listed shares (Ticker: DG) are again testing the $22.50 level that has supported them in their first week on the NYSE.
permalink | Comment on this post
Look for Mapco to go M&A on us
Posted on at 7:27 amEven though he’s trimmed his 2010 estimates and valuation of Delek US Holding, Avondale analyst Dan Mannes says the company’s is ready to build on its track record as a smart M&A player with “a knack for acquiring and turning around undervalued assets.” Mannes has a target of $7 on Delek shares (Ticker: DK), which closed Wednesday after-hours trading at $6.79.
permalink | Comment on this post
Teardrops on her get-well card
Posted on November 18, 2009 at 10:48 am
The Taylor Swift brand is set to expand into thousands of retail stores next year after the singer collaborates with American Greetings on a series of greeting cards.
permalink | Comment on this post
Children’s clothing retailer expands to Chattanooga
Posted on at 10:30 am
Leah Bentley’s Snap Kids concept will next month open a small store in Chattanooga’s Warehouse Row development. The store will be Snap Kids’ third location and will make Bentley a neighbor of fellow Nashville entrepreneur Linda Roberts, just like she is in Green Hills.
permalink | Comment on this post
An interesting downgrade
Posted on November 16, 2009 at 1:47 pmGoldman Sachs has lowered its rating of Dollar Tree (Ticker: DLTR) to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy,’ saying one of the main rivals of Dollar General will face difficult comparisons after this quarter.
On a completely related note, Goldman just got paid big time helping take Dollar General (Ticker: DG) public again.
permalink | Comment on this post
Avondale: Genesco cream of the footwear crop
Posted on at 8:22 am
David Turner at Avondale Partners has conducted the channel checks and says athletic clothing sales are lagging big time. But the so-called “black/brown/casual” sector showed third-quarter growth of more than 4 percent, which plays right into the hands of Nashville-based Genesco, Turner’s only outperform-rated stock (Ticker: GCO).
Our street-high Q3′10 (current quarter) EPS estimate of $0.46 is now visible, in our opinion, as is Q4, the company’s highest volume quarter. If our secular thesis is to be believed, more upside remains to GCO’s earnings.
permalink | Comment on this post
Dollar General’s map of the future
Posted on November 13, 2009 at 10:29 amNewly public Dollar General (Ticker: DG) plans to open 600 stores per year for the foreseeable future, but CEO Rick Dreiling says new markets — including all of the West Coast — will only account for a tenth of that. There’s plenty of fruit still on the trees in states where the company already operates.
permalink | Comment on this post
Only 30%?
Posted on November 12, 2009 at 8:20 am
An NPD study says three out of 10 people will cut back on their holiday spending this year, which is expected to be the second straight of negative seasonal retail sales. Strikes me as a little low, especially when Wal-Mart just reported negative same-store sales.
permalink | Comment on this post
A second look at Dollar General’s high valuation
Posted on November 11, 2009 at 9:44 am
Pali Research analysts Stacey Widlitz and Brandon Ross say Dollar General has earned its higher valuation over its main peers by virtue of strong execution, a better private-label program and more aggressive growth plans. They also expect strong per-share profit growth due in large part to the paying down next year of some $600 million in debt.
However — you kinda knew that was coming, no? — the Goodlettsville-based retailer’s pending IPO looks set to value the company a third higher than Family Dollar and Dollar Tree. And that is a bit much if you’re looking for more gains, say Widlitz and Ross. Seems like Dollar General has quite simply done too good a job over the past few years.
DG is highly exposed to consumables which have been a tailwind for the past two years. However, that means the company is less exposed to a turn. DG has also completed most of the “hard work” in its turnaround story… We would rather own a name … that has upside as a result of initiatives that are early in the game and should drive EPS upside in 2010.
permalink | Comment on this post
You don’t absolutely have to get into Dollar General at its IPO price
Posted on November 6, 2009 at 12:57 pmBut it sure will help your portfolio if you do… Jutia contributor Brandon Clay says the Goodlettsville-based retailer likely won’t trade at a discount to Wal-Mart long after it goes public.
It’s a cash cow so long as the debt load can be managed and eliminated.
permalink | Comment on this post
Cracker Barrel tweaks debt deals
Posted on at 12:34 pm
CFO Sandy Cochran has renegotiated the maturity dates of Cracker Barrel’s revolving line of credit (while also shrinking it by a third) and long-term loans. About two-thirds of the revolver now won’t be due until 2013, about 40 percent of the term loans until 2016. The tweaks will add about $2 million in interest costs this fiscal year for Cracker Barrel, whose shares (Ticker: CBRL) are flat on the day.
permalink | Comment on this post
Go, Genesco, go
Posted on at 11:56 am
Robert W. Baird analyst Mitch Kummetz has raised his rating on the Nashville retailer to ‘outperform.’ Kummetz, who two months ago was quite sober about the company’s prospects, also has lifted his price target to $34 from $25. On a lackluster day for the market, Genesco shares (Ticker: GCO) are up more than 3 percent.
permalink | Comment on this post
CBL’s progress and stability
Posted on November 4, 2009 at 7:57 amThe boss of Chattanooga-based mall operator CBL — which runs three of the Nashville area’s largest shopping hubs — says he’s encouraged by “improving trends.” Occupancy rates rose by at least one percentage point in every one of the company’s categories, but shoppers appear to be giving smaller operators an especially hard time: Same-store sales for tenants occupying less than 10,000 square feet fell more than 6 percent from a year ago.
Recent Comments
In our good state a select few run the place, 20 yrs ago and today....
Southernindie…Unfortunat ely you have suffered a dibilitating...
And…Karl (Marx) Dean is spending one billion dollars...
Someone explain the difference between short stay and observation...
Watching the Chairman of Starwood Hotels yesterday on CNBC...
Funny how the Union’s feel about taxes. They complained about their...
Where is it?
An absolutely ugly structure, which I have always thought did not take...
Too bad that ATT changed the look of the building so that it no longer...
Yeah, well, look at the TN Legislature of good ol’ boys and the...
As long as the red rules, we will be far behind other states. The GOP does...
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn: I don’t know what...