Can Retail Stocks Keep Up This Pace?

Earlier this week we saw Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) and Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) report earnings with strong results. But with major department stores dominating Thursday morning’s earnings, can these major retailers keep up the pace?

Previously 24/7 Wall St. took a look at Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors, and there were some resounding similarities. First each of these companies posted falling sales year over year, and investors didn’t seem to care much because the bottom-line was intact.

Both firms also said that they expect sales to continue to fall through the rest of this current fiscal year.

As we know, the retail industry has lagged the broad markets so far this year, and until now there haven’t been any bright spots. So has the retail industry fallen far enough this year and investors have found a bottom? Only time will tell, but if investors are disregarding falling sales, this ironically could be a positive outlook for the rest of the year.

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Looking ahead to Thursday, Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) and Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) are all on the docket to report, and 24/7 Wall St. has put together a brief preview on each of these major retailers.

Kohl plans to report its fiscal second-quarter results before the markets open. The analysts’ consensus estimates are that earnings per share (EPS) will be $1.19 and revenue will total $4.12 billion. Shares were last seen at $41.90. The consensus price target is $40.63, and the stock has a 52-week range of $35.16 to $59.67.

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Macy’s will share its most recent quarterly earnings Thursday morning as well. The consensus estimates call for $0.46 in EPS on $5.52 billion in revenue. Shares were recently trading at $23.45, in a 52-week range of $20.85 to $45.41. The consensus price target is $26.06.

Nordstrom will reveal its fiscal second-quarter results after the close on Thursday. The consensus forecast is $0.64 in EPS and revenue of $3.75 billion. Shares of Nordstrom were trading at $46.75 on Wednesday, just above the consensus price target of $46.58. The 52-week range is $39.53 to $62.82.

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