What to Look for in Pier 1 Earnings

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 6:14AM EST · Published Jun 29, 9:49AM EDT

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What to Look for in Pier 1 Earnings — © Thinkstock

Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets close on Wednesday. The consensus estimates are calling for a net loss of $0.05 per share on $420.05 million in revenue. The same period from last year had $0.08 in earnings per share (EPS) on $432.00 million in revenue.

Although fiscal 2016 was a challenging year, this company made solid progress toward stabilizing top line trends, cutting costs and reducing inventory levels. It also delivered another year of strong e-Commerce sales, which increased 45% on top of 193% growth in the 2015 fiscal year. A trend the company is looking to continue through fiscal 2017.

Management has said that it feels very good about its long-term positioning, as well as that its Pier 1 Imports brand is in excellent health. The company has full omni-channel capabilities and it is focused on improving operational execution. Although revenue and earnings are expected to show only modest growth in fiscal 2017, Pier 1 expects to achieve stronger performance in the second half of the year and accelerate growth in fiscal 2018 and beyond.

[nativounit]

A few analysts weighed in on Pier 1 prior to the release of the earnings report:

Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Sell rating and a $5.50 price target.
Wolfe Research has a Perform rating.
Longbow Research initiated coverage with a Neutral rating.
BTIG research initiated coverage with a Neutral rating.
Topeka Capital Markets initiated coverage with a Buy rating.
Argus reiterated a Hold rating.
Morgan Stanley reiterated an Underweight rating with a $4 price target.
Merrill Lynch reiterated a Sell rating.
Credit Suisse reiterated a Hold rating.

So far in 2016 Pier 1 has outperformed the broad markets with the stock up over 5%. Over the past 52-weeks the stock is actually down 55%.

Shares of Pier 1 closed Tuesday down 2% at $5.23, with a consensus analyst price target of $6.10 and a 52-week trading range of $3.76 to $13.28.

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.