Upcoming AWS Coverage on Vera Bradley Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2016 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL). The company released its third quarter fiscal 2016 (Q3 FY16) earnings on November 18, 2016. The New York-based company's total sales and non-GAAP diluted EPS rose 5.1% and 13% y-o-y, respectively, in the reported period. Register with us now for your free membership at: http://www.activewallst.com/register/.

One of Foot Locker's competitors within the Textile - Apparel Footwear & Accessories space, Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA), announced that it will report its results for the Q3 ended October 29, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, December 7, 2016. AWS will be initiating a research report on Vera Bradley in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on FL; touching on VRA. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=FL

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=VRA

Earnings Reviewed

In Q3 FY16, Foot Locker reported total sales of $1.89 billion, compared to $1.79 billion in Q3 FY15. Total sales number for the reported quarter was in-line with market expectations of $1.89 billion. In the reported quarter, comparable stores sales growth was 4.7% versus an 8.7% gain in the last year's comparable quarter. The comparable store sales growth came in-line with the company's previous guidance of a mid-single-digit increase.

The specialty athletic retailer reported GAAP net income of $157 million, or $1.17 per diluted share, in Q3 FY16 compared to $80 million, or $0.57 per diluted share, in the prior year's same quarter. Non-GAAP net income improved during Q3 FY16 to $152 million, or $1.13 per diluted share, from $141 million, or $1.00 per diluted share, reported in the prior year's comparable quarter. For Q3 FY16, Wall Street had expected the company to report non-GAAP net income of $1.11 per diluted share.

In her commentary in the earnings press release, Lauren Peters, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, stated:

"The Company continued to execute its strategic initiatives and produce excellent financial results in the quarter, with solid, consistent top-line growth, as well as incremental improvements in both gross margin and SG&A rates."

Operating Metrics

In the three months ended October 28, 2016, Foot Locker's gross margin improved 10 basis points y-o-y to 33.9% of sales, primarily driven by merchandise margin, which also grew 10 basis points y-o-y. In Q3 FY16, SG&A expenses were $366 million compared to $352 million in prior year's same quarter. Additionally, SG&A as percentage of sales rose 20 basis points y-o-y in Q3 FY16 to 19.4% of sales. During Q3 FY16, average footwear selling prices were up by low end of mid-single digits, while unit sales were also up low single digits.

Store Update

During Q3 FY16, Foot Locker inaugurated 21 new stores, while it remodeled or relocated 40 stores, and closed 28 stores. As of October 29, 2016, the company operated 3,394 stores in 23 countries in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Furthermore, the company had 56 franchised Foot Locker stores operating in the Middle East and South Korea, along with 15 franchised Runners Point stores in Germany.

Balance Sheet

At October 29, 2016, the company's merchandise inventories stood at $1.36 billion, up 1.9% from the closing date a year ago. The company's cash and cash equivalents totaled $865 million as on October 29, 2016, compared to $878 million as on October 31, 2015. Furthermore, the company reported long-term debt of $127 million in its books of accounts as on October 29, 2016, compared to $130 million as on October 31, 2015.

Dividends and Share Repurchases

In a separate press release on November 16, 2016, Foot Locker's Board of Directors announced a cash dividend on its common stock of $0.275 per share. The dividend is payable on January 27, 2017, to stockholders of record at the close of business on January 13, 2017.

During Q3 FY16, Foot Locker repurchased 1.15 million shares for $76.3 million, and has paid a quarterly dividend of $0.275. In the first nine months of FY16, the company returned $463 million to shareholders by repurchasing 5.9 million shares for $352 million and paying dividend amounting to $111 million.

Earnings Outlook

Foot Locker has reaffirmed its full-year FY16 comparable sales growth guidance of mid-single digit increase. The company continues to project a double-digit growth in its earnings per share for full-year FY16.

Stock Performance

Foot Locker's share price finished yesterday's trading session at $72.44, marginally down 0.90%. A total volume of 1.08 million shares exchanged hands. The stock has rallied 10.87% and 33.11% in the last three months and past six months, respectively. Furthermore, since the start of the year, shares of the company have gained 13.23%. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 15.62 and has a dividend yield of 1.52%.

Active Wall Street:

Active Wall Street (AWS) produces regular sponsored and non-sponsored reports, articles, stock market blogs, and popular investment newsletters covering equities listed on NYSE and NASDAQ and micro-cap stocks. AWS has two distinct and independent departments. One department produces non-sponsored analyst certified content generally in the form of press releases, articles and reports covering equities listed on NYSE and NASDAQ and the other produces sponsored content (in most cases not reviewed by a registered analyst), which typically consists of compensated investment newsletters, articles and reports covering listed stocks and micro-caps. Such sponsored content is outside the scope of procedures detailed below.

AWS has not been compensated; directly or indirectly; for producing or publishing this document.

PRESS RELEASE PROCEDURES:

The non-sponsored content contained herein has been prepared by a writer (the "Author") and is fact checked and reviewed by a third party research service company (the "Reviewer") represented by a credentialed financial analyst, for further information on analyst credentials, please email info@activewallst.com. Rohit Tuli, a CFA® charterholder (the "Sponsor"), provides necessary guidance in preparing the document templates. The Reviewer has reviewed and revised the content, as necessary, based on publicly available information which is believed to be reliable. Content is researched, written and reviewed on a reasonable-effort basis. The Reviewer has not performed any independent investigations or forensic audits to validate the information herein. The Reviewer has only independently reviewed the information provided by the Author according to the procedures outlined by AWS. AWS is not entitled to veto or interfere in the application of such procedures by the third-party research service company to the articles, documents or reports, as the case may be. Unless otherwise noted, any content outside of this document has no association with the Author or the Reviewer in any way.

NO WARRANTY

AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer are not responsible for any error which may be occasioned at the time of printing of this document or any error, mistake or shortcoming. No liability is accepted whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential loss arising from the use of this document. AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer expressly disclaim any fiduciary responsibility or liability for any consequences, financial or otherwise arising from any reliance placed on the information in this document. Additionally, AWS, the Author, and the Reviewer do not (1) guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness or correct sequencing of the information, or (2) warrant any results from use of the information. The included information is subject to change without notice.

NOT AN OFFERING

This document is not intended as an offering, recommendation, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned or discussed, and is to be used for informational purposes only. Please read all associated disclosures and disclaimers in full before investing. Neither AWS nor any party affiliated with us is a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer with any agency or in any jurisdiction whatsoever. To download our report(s), read our disclosures, or for more information, visit http://www.activewallst.com/disclaimer/.

CONTACT

For any questions, inquiries, or comments reach out to us directly. If you're a company we are covering and wish to no longer feature on our coverage list contact us via email and/or phone between 09:30 EDT to 16:00 EDT from Monday to Friday at:

Email: info@activewallst.com
Phone number: 1-858-257-3144

Office Address: 3rd floor, 207 Regent Street, London, W1B 3HH, United Kingdom

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

SOURCE: Active Wall Street