Wall Street Reacts To 3 Same-Store Sales Reports

Three leading retail brands reported healthy same-store sales for February. Same-store sales is an important indicator for brick and mortar retailers. Wall Street analysts express their opinion on the performance.William Blair analysts maintained an Outperform rating on Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ), after the company reported its February same-store sales (SSS) up 6.9% against a 2.0% comparison. The results were significantly ahead of the consensus. "As was the case in January, all countries posted positive same-store results, but Europe significantly outperformed the consolidated comp, which is noteworthy given the seasonality of European sales in the months of January and February (about 20% of sales versus about 10% for the full year)," the analysts said. Wunderlich Securities analysts maintained a Buy rating on L Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LB), with a price target of $112. The company report February comps of +6%, versus +2% last year, and in-line with expectations. "Strong product stories, powerful marketing campaigns, and disciplined inventories drove solid sell-through and margin upside across its leading brands…VS comp rose +7% (vs. +2% LY) and merchandise margin was up YoY...VS Direct sales declined 6% (vs. +1% LY) due to the continued liquidation of non-core categories…Bath & Body Works comp up 5% (vs. +1% LY) and merchandise margin was up slightly YoY. Valentine's Day drove strong sell-through in February and in March," the analysts said, while adding, "Early Easter to positively impact March comp." Sterne Agee analysts maintained a Buy rating on Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ: COST), with a price target of $156. The company reported 2Q EPS significantly ahead of expectations as well as February SSS of about 8%.February sales jumped 3.54% y/y to $8.18 billion. "Total Reported SSS rose ~2.0% in February (U.S. +2.0%, International +0.0%). This includes the negative impact from FX translation and more heavily, gas deflation, which together we estimate were a ~700 bps hit to comps. Stripping out these negative impacts, the core comp for February was about 8.0% (U.S +7.0%, International +12%) - 150 basis points above our 6.5% estimate," the analysts wrote.