Liz Claiborne and PVH to Open Near 52-Week Highs

Apparel makers Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ) and PVH (NYSE: PVH) reached new 52-week highs of $8.80 and $75.91 per share, respectively, in yesterday's trading session.Liz Claiborne announced yesterday that it had completed the sale of its namesake brand to JCPenney (NYSE: JCP). And on Tuesday, the company said it completed a deal to sell its Mexx business. New York-based Liz Claiborne designs and markets apparel and accessories, as well as operates more than 200 retail outlets. The company was founded in 1976 and now has a market cap of $811 million.Earnings per share are anticipated to grow 12.0% over the next five years. But Liz Claiborne pays no dividend and short interest is a hefty 22.6% of the float. Still, three out of seven analysts consider it a Buy or Strong Buy. The share price jumped about 89% over the past month and is nearly 20% higher year to date. Due to that surge, the stock has outperformed competitors Coach (NYSE: COH) and Jones New York (NYSE: JNY) over the past six months.PVH, formerly Phillips-Van Heusen, was a Jim Cramer pick this week. The company said in October it expects third-quarter and full-year earnings to come in at the high end of previously released guidance. The company's brands include Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and ARROW. It is also based in New York, and it has a market cap is $5.1 billion. It was founded in 1881.The price-to-earnings ratio and the PEG ratio are higher than the industry average, but so is the operating margin. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 14.5% and the dividend yield is 0.2%. The share price is up more than 32% in the past month, as well as more than 23% higher than a year ago. The stock has outperformed Perry Ellis (NYSE: PERY) over the past six months but underperformed Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL).