Gap's Q4 Earnings Guidance Looks Strong

Investors in the Apparel space bid up shares of Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS) during Monday's after-hours session following strong guidance out of the clothing and accessories maker.The company offered a January net sales figure which was down about 8 percent on a year-over-year basis to $813 million. Same-store sales for the period tumbled 8 percent versus a 3 percent decline last year.Fourth-quarter sales totaled $4.39 billion, worse than the $4.46 billion predicted by Wall Street analysts, and down nearly 7 percent from the same quarter in 2015. But Gap set up quarterly earnings favorably. CFO Sabrina Simmons noted, "We are pleased to guide to the high end of our previously announced full-year earnings per share range. As we kick-off fiscal year 2016, our brands look forward to introducing their new Spring collections to customers."The company said it is anticipating fourth-quarter earnings in the range of $0.56-$0.57, strong compared to the current sell-side consensus estimate of $0.53. For the fiscal year 2015, Gap narrowed its EPS range from the $2.38-$2.42 range issued on November 19, 2015 to a new range of $2.41-$2.42. Gap analysts have modeled for FY15 earnings of about $2.36.Shares of Gap last traded up about 3 percent to $24.75.