Shares of this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) specialty retailer of durable consumer products increased 90.5% since the beginning of the year, riding on consistent share gains in the appliance market, focus on maximizing productivity and initiatives to expand its brand portfolio.
Notably, Conns boasts a history of beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company reported strong first-quarter fiscal 2014 results on Jun 6, 2013, with earnings of 61 cents per share. This beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 56 cents, and surged 74.3% from the year-ago quarter earnings of 35 cents.
This durable consumer goods retailer outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in 5 out of the last 6 quarters with an average beat of 12.6%, while reporting in-line earnings in one quarter. The long-term expected earnings growth rate for the stock is 20.3%, well above the industry growth rate of 14.7%.
Top Electric Utility Stocks To Own For 2015: Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS)
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (Barnes & Noble), incorporated on November 19, 1986, is a bookseller. The Company is a content, commerce and technology company that provides customers access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. As of April 27, 2013, it operated 1,361 bookstores in 50 states, 686 bookstores on college campuses, and operates one of the Web eCommerce sites, and develops digital content products and software. Barnes & Noble operates in three segments: B&N Retail, B&N College and NOOK. The Company�� principal business is the sale of trade books (generally hardcover and paperback consumer titles), mass market paperbacks (such as mystery, romance, science fiction and other popular fiction), children�� books, eBooks and other digital content, NOOK and related accessories, bargain books, magazines, gifts, cafe products and services, educational toys & games, music and movies direct to customers through its bookstores or on barnesandnoble.com.
Of the Company�� 1,361 bookstores, 675 operate primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC (B&N College), a wholly owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, operates 686 college bookstores at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble Retail (B&N Retail) operates the 675 retail bookstores. Retail also includes the Company�� eCommerce site and Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (Sterling or Sterling Publishing), a leader in general trade book publishing.
B&N Retail
This segment includes 675 bookstores as of April 27, 2013, primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. These stores generally offer a dedicated NOOK area, a comprehensive trade book title base, a cafe, and departments dedicated to Juvenile, Toys & Games, DVDs, Music, Gift, Magazine and Bargain products. The stores also offer a calendar of ongoing events, including author appearances and children�� activities. The B&! N Retail segment also includes the Company�� eCommerce website, barnesandnoble.com, and its publishing operation, Sterling Publishing. Barnes & Noble stores range in size from 3,000 to 60,000 square feet depending upon market size, with an overall average store size of 26,000 square feet. During the fiscal year ended April 27, 2013 (fiscal), the Company reduced the Barnes & Noble store base by 0.3 million square feet, bringing the total square footage to 17.7 million square feet. The Company�� B&N Retail segment purchases physical books on a regular basis from over 800 publishers and over 50 wholesalers or distributors. As of April 27, 2013, Barnes & Noble had stores in 162 of the total 210 Designated Market Area markets.
Sterling Publishing is a publisher of non-fiction trade titles. It is a range of non-fiction and illustrated books and kits across a range of imprints, in categories, such as health and wellness, music and culture, food and wine, crafts and photography, puzzles and games, history and current affairs, as well as a children�� books.
B&N College
B&N College sells new and used textbooks in campus bookstores and online. As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operated 686 stores nationwide. The Company�� customer base, which is mainly consisted of students and faculty, can purchase various items from their campus stores, including textbooks and course-related materials, emblematic apparel and gifts, trade books, computer products, NOOK products and related accessories, school and dorm supplies, convenience and cafe items.
As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operates 651 traditional college bookstores and 35 academic superstores, which are generally larger in size, offer cafes and provide a sense of community that engages the surrounding campus and local communities in college activities and culture. The traditional bookstores range in size from 500 to 48,000 square feet. The academic superstores range in size from 8,000 to 75,000 square feet. B&! N College! �� three customer constituencies are students, faculty members and campus administrators.
NOOK
This segment includes the Company�� digital business, which includes the Company�� eBookstore, digital newsstand and sales of NOOK devices and accessories to third party distribution partners, as well as to B&N Retail and B&N College. Barnes & Noble�� NOOK digital bookstore and Reading Apps provide customers the ability to purchase and read their digital content and access to their Lifetime Library on a range of digital platforms, including Windows 8 PCs and tablets, iPad, iPhone , Android smartphones and tablets, PC and Mac. Barnes & Noble has implemented features on its digital platform to ensure that customers can access their NOOK content from almost all of today�� most popular devices.
The Company competes with Target, Books-A-Million, Waldenbooks, Amazon.com, Apple, Wal-Mart and Costco.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Maxfield]
The nation's largest bricks-and-mortar bookstore Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS ) admitted defeat yesterday by abandoning its attempt to compete in the tablet market.
- [By Eric Volkman]
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images Amazon (AMZN), according to persistent rumors, is putting the finishing touches on a set-top box that will allows users to stream video content from a chosen device or devices to their TVs. If it's true, the company is coming fairly late to a stuffed segment. But grabbing market share -- and even making a buck on the device -- might not be its top motivation for wading into this fray. A Razor-and-Blades Strategy For the past few years -- ever since it launched its first Kindle -- Amazon has been willing to sacrifice making a profit on its tablets in order to push its digital content, a growing library of TV shows, feature films, video games and other material. It sells the current Kindle HD iterations at cost (starting at $139 for the standard HD, and going to $229 for the 7-inch-display HDX version and $379 for the 8.9-inch HDX). Since Kindles are packed with software that guides users to the retailer's offerings -- most compatibly, those TV shows and movies, which users can rent or buy, but also the company's online catalog of physical goods -- the business strategy is a variation on the classic razor-and-blades model. In other words, the company sells the razor (the Kindle) relatively cheaply, in the hopes of producing a long-tail revenue stream with the blades (the digital content). Amazon doesn't break out detailed numbers for revenue derived from Kindle user activity, so it's hard to gauge how effective the strategy has been. But the company is selling a lot of digital media. According to research conducted by investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) last year, Amazon stood to take in around $3.8 billion worth of digital media sales in 2013. The bank predicts that this will surge to a projected $5.7 billion this year. The latter figure is around 6 percent of total anticipated net sales for the entirety of 2014. Tablet Sales are Tumbling Putting a damper on that happy growth story is development of the overall ta
- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
Steve Mack/FilmMagic There was no shortage of wonders of blunders even in this holiday-shortened market week. From a retailer's gadget going cold to some jewelers just starting to heat up, here's a rundown of the week's smartest moves and biggest errors in the business world. Men's Wearhouse (MW) -- Loser Jos. A. Bank (JOSB) tried to acquire the larger Men's Wearhouse a few weeks ago. It didn't pan out, and now Men's Wearhouse has made an offer to buy Jos. A. Bank. This is technically a smart move, especially since the two companies should be able to realize some serious cost savings as a combined entity. However, this still is being scored as a blunder because Men's Wearhouse originally balked at Jos. A. Bank's buyout at least partially on the grounds that antitrust regulators would not allow it to take place. Now it has to eat its words. Yahoo! (YHOO) -- Winner Yahoo! announced on Monday that Katie Couric will be joining the meandering dot-com giant as its global anchor next year. She will help develop the coverage at Yahoo News, giving the Web giant some welcome street cred in reporting circles. Couric won't be leaving TV. She plans to continue hosing her syndicated daytime take show -- Katie -- that runs through ABC News. Yahoo! has struggled with online advertising growth lately, and Couric's presence should help increase what it can milk out of advertisers. The Nook -- Loser Barnes & Noble (BKS) posted disappointing quarterly results, but the real culprit here was a sharp drop in sales for the struggling bookseller's Nook e-reader and tablet lines. Shares of Barnes & Noble slipped after reporting a 32 percent plunge in Nook sales. The slide over the past year consists of a 41 percent decline in device and accessories and an even more problematic 21 percent drop in digital content. After all, it's one thing if no one's buying new Nooks, but it's even more troublesome if the wider usage base is buying less digital content. Jewelry -- Winne
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Barnes & Noble (BKS) are tumbling for a second day after�John Malone’s Liberty Media (LMCA) said it would sell most of its stake in the struggling book seller.
REUTERSIn a report released yesterday, Credit Suisse analysts�Gary Balter and�Andrew Kinder note that Liberty Media’s exit could mean the end of the line for Barnes & Noble’s Nook:
The removal of Liberty Media as a significant investor in [Barnes & Noble] also seems to be another signal in the company’s strategic shift with managing the NOOK. Similar to CEO William Lynch’s departure, it appears those most interested in growing the NOOK platform have now left. Under new management, the new strategy being implemented for the NOOK is one where cost cuts are emphasized and attempts are made to monetize, not grow, the remaining assets. This strategy has decreased the value drag of the NOOK this year. However, it is too [early] to see to what extent this strategy will result in the ability for shareholders to see just the positive EBITDA contributions from Retail and College, something that the bulls are currently hoping for.
Shares of Barnes & Noble have dropped 4.8% to $18.19 at 3pm today, while Liberty Media is off 2.4% at $1127.30.
Best Specialty Retail Companies To Watch For 2014: Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd (SAXJF)
Sa Sa International Holdings Limited is an investment holding company. The Company�� subsidiaries are principally engaged in the retailing and wholesaling of cosmetic products. Its business covers Hong Kong and Macau, Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. The Company operates in two segments: retail segment, engaged in the operation of cosmetics specialty stores, which offer a variety of products from over 600 beauty brands, covering a wide of products from skin care, fragrance, make-up, body care and hair care to health foods, and brand management segment, engaged in the management of over 100 beauty brands. It also offers round-the-clock online shopping services along with product and corporate information through its e-commerce platform, sasa.com. The Company�� subsidiaries include Alibaster Management Limited, Base Sun Investment Limited, Cyber Colors Limited, Docile Company Limited and Elegance Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, among others. Advisors' Opinion:- [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks swung between small gains and losses early Thursday after hitting a seven-month high in the previous session, with the Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) down less than 0.1%. Most mainland Chinese property developers outperformed the markets, with Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. (HK:2777) (GZUHF) rallying 3.4%, after the company reported a 44% month-on-month jump in sales for June. Shimao Property Holdings Ltd. (HK:0813) (SIOPF) climbed 2.6%, and China Resources Land Ltd. (HK:1109) (CRBJF) rose 1.7%. However, several retailers were weak, as Want Want China Holdings Ltd. (HK:0151) (WWNTF) , the country's top food and beverage maker, declined 2%. Hong Kong-based cosmetics brand Sa Sa International Holdings (HK:0178) (SAXJF) fell 1.6%, with a decline in Chinese June non-manufacturing data helping weigh on some retailers. Over on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index (CN:SHCOMP) retreated 0.4%, pulling back from its highest close in two weeks.
Best Specialty Retail Companies To Watch For 2014: Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage Inc (NGVC)
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc., incorporated on April 9, 2012, is a specialty retailer of natural and organic groceries and dietary supplements. The Company operates within the natural products retail industry. The Company offers products and brands, including a selection of natural and organic food, dietary supplements, body care products, pet care products and books.
The Company offers its customers an average of approximately 18,000 store-keeping units (SKUs) of natural and organic products per store, including an average of approximately 7,000 SKU of dietary supplements. As of June 30, 2012, the Company operated 55 stores in 11 states, including Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as a bulk food repackaging facility and distribution center in Colorado. The size of its stores varies from 5,000 selling square feet to 14,500 selling square feet, and a new store averages 9,500 selling square feet.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Small cap Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NYSE: NGVC) and mid cap Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (NASDAQ: SFM) are taking aim at natural and organic foods supermarket giant Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM), but do either of these stocks have what it takes to take on the the king of organic retailing? Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin way back in 1978 by a�twenty-five year old college dropout and a twenty-one year old�at a time when there were only a handful of natural or organic�supermarkets in the country. Today, Whole Foods Market�has 364 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom���which are sometimes referred to as ��hole Wallet��r ��hole Paycheck��given how much it costs to shop there.
- [By David Mamos]
The Fresh Market Inc. (Nasdaq: TFM), Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. (NYSE: NGVC), and privately held Trader Joe's are others crowding into the field.
- [By Brian Stoffel]
Much has been made recently about new entrants into the organic/natural food space in America. While Sprouts Farmers Market� (NASDAQ: SFM ) , The Fresh Market (NASDAQ: TFM ) , and Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage� (NYSE: NGVC ) attempt to use Whole Foods' blueprint, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT ) is teaming up with Wild Oats to offer more organic goods in its discount stores.
- [By John Udovich]
Large cap natural and organic foods supermarket giant Whole Foods Market, Inc (NASDAQ: WFM), otherwise known as ��hole Wallet��r ��hole Paycheck,��is not the only player in the natural or organics supermarket space for consumers and investors alike as mid cap Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (NASDAQ: SFM) and small caps Fairway Group Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: FWM) and Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE: NGVC) are also players in the space. It should be mentioned that Whole Foods Market is down 15.7% since the start of the year and has a downward trending technical chart, but�shares are�still up 13% over the past year, up 426.3% over the past five years and up 3,108.6% since January 1992.
Best Specialty Retail Companies To Watch For 2014: West Marine Inc (WMAR)
West Marine, Inc., incorporated in September 1993, is a specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories. The Company offers an assortment of merchandise for the boat and for the boater. It operates in three segments: Stores, Port Supply and Direct-to-Customer. The Company sells to both retail and wholesale customers in its Stores segment. In addition, the Company has three franchised stores in Turkey. The Company�� Port Supply segment is its wholesale segment. The Company�� Direct-to-Customer, which includes e-commerce, catalog and call center transactions. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Stores segment generated approximately 90% of its net revenues. During 2011, products shipped to Port Supply customers directly from its warehouses represented approximately 4% of its net revenues.
During 2011, its Direct Sales segment offered customers around the world more than 75,000 products and accounted for the remaining 6% of its net revenues. Private label products, which the Company sells under the West Marine, Black Tip, Third Reef, Pure Oceans, Lifesling, SeaVolt and Seafit brand names, usually are manufactured in Asia, the United States and Europe.
Stores Segment
During 2011, the Company opened six stores while closing 14 stores. In December 2011, it opened its Fort Lauderdale Boating Superstore, a 50,000 square foot flagship. Its flagship stores ranging in size from 21,000 to 50,000 square feet, offering an array of merchandise typically about 16,000 items, as well as displays designed to help customers make informed product selections. It also operates large format stores, standard-sized stores and smaller Express stores. Its large format stores range from 13,000 to 19,000 square feet and carry about 11,000 items. The standard-sized stores typically range from 6,000 to 12,000 square feet and carry over 6,000 items. Express stores typically range from 2,500 to 3,000 square feet and carry over 4,000 items, mainly hardware and other supplies needed! for day-to-day boat maintenance and repairs.
Port Supply Segment
Port Supply customers include businesses involved in boat sales, boat building, boat commissioning and repair, yacht chartering, marina operations and other boating-related activities. In addition, Port Supply sells to government and industrial customers who use its products for boating and non-boating purposes. Port Supply, the Company�� wholesale segment, serves wholesale customers seeking convenience and a larger assortment of products than those carried by typical distributors.
Direct-to-Customer Segment
The Company�� e-commerce Website provides its customers with access to a selection of approximately 75,000 products, product advisor tips and technical information, over 450 product videos and customer-submitted product reviews. This segment also provides customers with access to knowledgeable technical advisors who can assist its customers in understanding the various uses and applications of the products it sell. It operates a virtual call center from which its associates assist its customers by taking calls from their homes or from its support center in Watsonville, California. Its virtual call center supports sales generated through its e-commerce Website, catalogs and stores and provides customer service offerings.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Interactive Buyside]
West Marine (Nasdaq: WMAR) is an undervalued retailer. The company is going through a change in focus from a bricks and mortar boat product retailer to a fully integrated retail and wholesale business through bricks and clicks, targeting the boating and water enthusiast customer. Recent results have been affected by a severe rainy and cool spring which hurt boat usage and delayed the start of the season. The company has accelerated cash investments to build larger more productive stores and expand its ecommerce abilities, consequently affecting free cash flow short term. The stock lacks sponsorship as there is only one research report written on the company by a small boutique firm. The stock trades at only book value despite the company being the leading industry player with a solid balance sheet and significant net cash position.
Best Specialty Retail Companies To Watch For 2014: Puget Technologies Inc (PUGE)
PUGET TECHNOLOGIES, INC., incorporated on March 17, 2010, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in the distribution of luxury wool bedding sets produced in Germany. The Company�� product includes Lama Wool, Camel Wool, Cashmere Wool and Merino Wool.
The Company�� Lama Wool is consists of 50% Lama Wool hair, and 50% Merino wool hair. The Camel wool is consists of 50% Camel wool hair, and 50% Merino wool hair. The Cashmere wool is blended with Merino wool.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Inscor, Inc (OTCMKTS: IOGA), Puget Technologies Inc (OTCBB: PUGE) and PTA Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS: PTAH) have all been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters or investor alerts. However, two of these small caps have been the subject of paid promotions while the third is getting attention largely because its in the growing marijuana or cannabis business. With that in mind, are these stocks really all that hot or not? Here is a quick reality check:
Best Specialty Retail Companies To Watch For 2014: FTD Companies Inc (FTD)
FTD Companies, Inc. (FTD), incorporated on April 25, 2008, is a floral and gifting company. The Company provides floral, gift and related products and services to consumers and retail florists, as well as to other retail locations offering floral and gift products primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The Company operates in one segment, which includes floral and related products and services. Its business uses the FTD and Interflora brands, both supported by the Mercury Man logo. The Company�� portfolio of brands also includes Flying Flowers, Flowers Direct, and Drake Algar in the United Kingdom. On November 1, 2013, United Online, Inc. (United Online) completed the separation of United Online into two independent, publicly traded companies: FTD Companies, Inc. and United Online, Inc.
The Company�� products revenues are derived primarily from selling floral, gift and related products to consumers and the related shipping and service fees. Products revenues also include revenues generated from sales of hard goods, software and hardware systems, cut flowers, packaging and promotional products, and a range of other floral-related supplies to floral network members. Its services revenues related to orders sent through the floral network are variable based on either the number of orders or on the value of orders and are recognized in the period in which the orders.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
As we head towards Black Friday, small cap specialty retail stocks United Online, Inc (NASDAQ: UNTD), TravelCenters of America LLC (NYSE: TA) and MarineMax, Inc (NYSE: HZO) have the distinction of being the best performing small cap�specialty retail stocks for this year (according to Finviz.com) with gains of 181.2%, 123.8% and 71.8%, respectively. With those returns in mind, what are these small cap specialty retail stocks doing right and will the performance last through the all important holiday season? Here is what new and existing investors and traders alike need to know or consider:
United Online, Inc.�A provider of consumer products and services over the Internet, United Online�� Content & Media segment services are online nostalgia (Memory Lane) and online loyalty marketing (MyPoints) while its�primary Communications segment services are Internet access and email (NetZero and Juno). The reason United Online is among the�best performing specialty retail stocks for this year in various stock screening tools like Finviz.com�is actually misleading as the company has just completed the spin off�of subsidiary FTD Companies, a floral and gifts products company acquired in August 2008 for $441 million, as�FTD Companies Inc (NASDAQ: FTD) where United Online shareholders received one share of FTD common stock for every five shares of United Online common stock they hold. In addition, United Online completed�a�one-for-seven reverse stock split of United Online shares.�On Tuesday, small cap United Online, Inc fell 1.01% to $15.72 (UNTD has a 52 week trading range of $11.65 to $62.30 a share) for a market cap of $207.79 million plus the stock is up 181.2% since the start of the year and up 182.2% over the past five years. Meanwhile, the FTD Companies Inc�now has a�market cap of $611.60 and the stock is up almost 6% since October. - [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
BlueOrange Studio/Shutterstock One day out of 365, we pay homage to our sainted mothers. Those of us who are members of this long-suffering, uncomplaining, self-sacrificing class may get some soggy French toast in bed, (don't worry, kids; mom will clean up the kitchen), a chance to read in peace, or perhaps time to indulge in a long, hot bath. Bringing Home the Bacon If you really want to pay back mom for all she's done, get ready to pony up big. A card and some carnations (the official flower of Mother's Day, who knew?) just won't cut it. The cost of replacing mom as nurturer, nurse, cleaner and cook -- according to Insure.com's 2014 Mother's Day salary index -- would run you $62,985 a year, up from $59,862 in 2013. Breaking down the price of having someone else handle her various duties: Cooking and cleaning, $12,230 Child care, $21,736 Homework help, $7,290 Chauffeur, $5,672 Shopping, yard work, party and activity planning, finances, etc., $15,019 And my personal favorite, finding out what the kids are up to (paid in the equivalent value of a private detective), $1,036. Salary.com placed a higher value on moms in its 2014 Mother's Day salary survey, concluding that stay-at-home moms were worth $118,905 and working moms worth $70,107 (this does not include any paid salary from their job), with both groups putting more than 56 hours of overtime at home. These numbers are all up from last year's survey. Cooking It Up in a Pan Mom helps to pay for other things, too. Thanks to the Department of Agriculture, you can see what it costs to raise a child in the U.S. to 18. As of August 2013, the average cost is $241,080. This does not cover college, and hopefully dear old dad is contributing. In 2012, there were 10.3 million single U.S. mothers with children under 18, and one-third of women who gave birth in 2012 were single moms. By becoming moms, women give up time to do other things, what economists call an "opportunity cost." Particularly if your mother st
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