Foot Locker Continues To Surprise Even Bullish Investors

Foot Locker, Inc. FL reported its Q3 results ahead of expectations. The performance “showcases FL’s breadth of assortment and ‘ear to the street’ as they transition through trends,” Deutsche Bank’s Paul Trussell said in a report. He maintains a Buy rating on the company, while raising the price target from $76 to $81.

Results And Guidance

Foot Locker reported its Q3 adjusted EPS at $1.13, ahead of the Street’s $1.10. Sales came in at $1.89 billion, backed by SSS (same-store sales) growth of 4.7 percent. “SSS were positive each month of the quarter,” analyst Trussell noted.

Management reiterated its full-year guidance of double-digit earnings growth and mid-single-digit SSS.

More Bullishness

“One year ago, not even the bulls for FL (like us) would have assumed the company would be able to comp +MSD with the basketball category and European geography comping negative,” Trussell commented. He pointed out that in Q3, both running and casual registered high-single-digit growth and witnessed positive traffic, unlike most retailers.

The analyst stated that the diversity of the company’s business model in terms of vendors, categories, geographies and omni-channel mix “is best-in-class leading to consistently strong SSS, EBIT flow-through, and FCF to support buybacks & a healthy dividend.” He added, “[W]e continue to believe FL is one of the few mall-based stocks worth owning.”

At last check, Foot Locker was up 0.96 percent at $72.47.