Pier 1 Rises on Earnings Beat

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 10:48AM EST · Published Apr 13, 4:36PM EDT

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Pier 1 Rises on Earnings Beat — © Thinkstock

Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) reported fiscal fourth-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Wednesday. The company had $0.23 in earnings per share (EPS) on $542.3 in revenue compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.21 in EPS on $526.76 million in revenue. The same period from the previous year had $0.39 in EPS on $550.0 million in revenue.

As for guidance going forward, the company expects a net loss per share in the range of $0.08 to $0.04 and net sales to contract by 1% to 3% for the fiscal first quarter. There are consensus estimates that are calling for $0.06 in EPS on $428.06 million in revenue.

The company generated cash flow from operations of $164 million. On the books, cash, equivalents, and temporary investments totaled $115.22 million at the end of the fiscal year compared to $100.06 at the end of last year.
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Alex W. Smith, president and CEO, commented:

Although fiscal 2016 was a challenging year, we made solid progress toward stabilizing top line trends, cutting costs and reducing inventory levels. We also delivered another year of strong e-Commerce sales, which increased 45% on top of 193% growth last year.

He continued:

As we look ahead, we feel very good about our long-term positioning. The Pier 1 Imports brand is in excellent health, we have full omni-channel capabilities and we’re focused on improving our operational execution. Although revenue and earnings are expected to show only modest growth in fiscal 2017, we expect to achieve stronger performance in the second half of the year and accelerate growth in fiscal 2018 and beyond.

Shares of Pier 1 closed Wednesday up 5.6% at $7.34, with a consensus analyst price target of $6.00 and a 52-week trading range of $3.76 to $13.66. Following the release of the earnings report the stock was initially up 2.2% at $7.50 in the after-hours trading session.

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.