5 Retailers That Struck Out for Christmas

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 3:54PM EST · Published Dec 19, 10:20AM EST

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5 Retailers That Struck Out for Christmas — © Thinkstock

As we are now less than a week away from Christmas, retail shopping has picked up, as well as the e-commerce business. Overall the broad markets have had a relatively weak year, and it has been reflected in quite a few companies. At this time of the year we turn our heads to retail, to look for a “Santa Clause Rally,” but this year old Saint Nick and his rally might not come to town.

24/7 Wall Street has picked out a few retailers that have whiffed this season and contributed to the sliding broad markets. We explore whether a company had earnings that fell short, a failed merger or missed guidance that were contributing factors to their dismal performance. We also have included a recent trading history, 52-week range and consensus analyst price target.

For a broader perspective on retail, 24/7 Wall St. also explored whether Super Saturday could save the holiday shopping season.

Pier 1 Imports

Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) collapsed when it reported earnings on Thursday. The company had $0.13 in earnings per share (EPS) on $472.5 million in revenue. That compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.12 in EPS on revenue of $494.6 million. In terms of guidance, the company expects EPS in the range of $0.42 to $0.46, below the previous guidance of $0.56 to $0.64, for the fiscal full year. Pier 1 also expects comparable sales to be flat for the year. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.58 and $1.90 billion in revenue for the fiscal full year.

Shares of Pier 1 were trading at $4.80 on Friday’s close, with a consensus analyst price target of $6.53 and a 52-week trading range of $4.55 to $17.52. Over the past quarter this stock dropped about 50%, and year to date it is down 68%.
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Staples and Office Depot

This month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to block the Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) acquisition of Office Depot Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP). Just like a house of cards, shares of both companies crumbled under this weight. If shareholders are really bold, they might hold on and wait for Staples and Office Depot to contest the FTC lawsuit, but the future does not look bright for this pair.

Staples stock closed Friday at $9.42. It has a consensus price target of $13.92 and a 52-week range of $9.03 to $19.40. Over the course of this quarter, shares dropped 29% and even hit a 52-week low. Year to date, shares are down about 46%.

Office Depot closed at $5.41 on Friday. The consensus price target is $8.89, and the 52-week range is $5.24 to $9.77. The stock hit a 52-week low following the FTC release. Shares were down 26% on the quarter. Year to date, they are down 35%.
CarMax

Before the markets opened on Friday, CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) reported its fiscal third-quarter financial results and the results were not pretty. The company had $0.63 in EPS on $3.54 billion in revenue. That compared to consensus estimates of $0.68 in EPS on revenue of $3.61 billion. While total used vehicle unit sales grew 3.2%, comparable store used unit sales fell 0.8% from the prior year’s third quarter. The comparable store used unit sales performance reflected a modest decrease in store traffic. Most customers at CarMax opted to lease a new car instead of purchasing a used car, hence the drop in comps.

Shares of CarMax ended trading at $53.49 on Friday, with a consensus analyst price target of $71.63 and a 52-week trading range of $50.58 to $75.40. Over the past quarter, CarMax stock is down only 6% (as of Thursday’s close) but considering Friday’s movement it puts the stock down over 15%.
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J.C. Penney

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) was once a retail turnaround candidate, but over the past quarter its stock has fallen 30%, a sign that investors have given up on its holiday sales prospects. Wall Street has good reason for the opinion. Some investors were optimistic about J.C. Penney’s prospects when the company announced same-store sales had risen by 6.4% in the quarter that ended October 31. As part of its full year outlook, the retailer forecast same-store sales higher by 4% to 5%. None of this gets J.C. Penney even close to where its revenue was before a collapse three years ago.

Any recovery is only a modest gain on long-past success. Whatever gains J.C. Penney makes over the holidays cannot pull it out of its position as a second-tier department store in an industry in which the companies are at war with one another and Amazon.

Shares of J.C. Penney ended the week at $6.63. The stock has a consensus price target of $9.83 and a 52-week range of $6.19 to $10.09.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.