Retail

What to Expect From Pier 1 Earnings

Chris Lange

Published: December 13, 2016 12:35 pm

Last Updated: March 13, 2020 10:09 pm

Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) is scheduled to report its fiscal third-quarter financial results after the markets close on Wednesday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters are $0.12 in earnings per share (EPS) and $466.42 million in revenue. In the same period of last year, the retailer posted EPS of $0.13 and $472.55 million in revenue.

In the second quarter, the company’s top-line results reflected soft store traffic levels, most notably in July. This seemingly detracted from Pier 1’s overall momentum at the time, but since then the company has roared back to life and really come alive in this quarter.

Going into this quarter, management was looking to drive its business, and it has many initiatives currently underway, including returning to television advertising; merchandise refreshes, such as the arrival of new and fall seasonal goods; new floor sets; gift registry introduction; full implementation of multi-tender loyalty program; and an effective and balanced promotional plan.

Although the company expects net sales to be down between 4% and 6% for this fiscal year, this quarter is looking to be very strong just, based on the building momentum.

A few analysts weighed in on Pier 1 ahead of the earnings report:

• Wedbush has a Neutral rating with a $4.00 price target.
• Telsey Advisory Group has a Market Perform rating with a $5.50 price target.
• Guggenheim has a Neutral rating.
• Credit Suisse has a Sell rating with a $4.00 price target.
• Nomura has a Buy rating with an $8.50 price target.
• Jefferies has a Hold rating with a $4.50 price target.
• BTIG Research has a Sell rating with a $3.50 price target.

So far in 2016, Pier 1 has outperformed the broad markets, with the stock up about 30%.

Shares of Pier 1 were trading at $6.64 on Tuesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $4.55 and a 52-week trading range of $3.73 to $7.70.