Research Desk Line-up: Kohl's Post Earnings Coverage

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / September 5, 2017 / Pro-Trader Daily has just published a free post-earnings coverage on The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) ("TJX"), which can be viewed by registering at http://protraderdaily.com/optin/?symbol=TJX, following the Company's release of its second quarter fiscal 2018 financial results on August 15, 2017. The leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the US and worldwide reported a 6% gain in sales and raised its earnings guidance for the fiscal year 2018. Our daily stock reports are accessible for free, and with those to look forward today you also will be signing up for a complimentary member's account at:

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Get more of our free earnings reports coverage from other constituents of the Department Stores industry. Pro-TD has currently selected Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) for due-diligence and potential coverage as the Company reported on August 10, 2017, its financial results for Q2 2017 which ended on July 29, 2017. Register for a free membership today, and be among the early birds that get access to our report on Kohl's when we publish it.

At Pro-TD, we make it our mission to bring you news that matter about the stock you follow. Today, our research desk covers a blog story on TJX; also brushing on KSS. With the links below you can directly download the report of your stock of interest free of charge at:

http://protraderdaily.com/optin/?symbol=TJX

http://protraderdaily.com/optin/?symbol=KSS

Earnings Reviewed

For the second quarter ended July 29, 2017, TJX's net sales increased 6% to $8.36 billion compared to net sales of $7.88 billion in Q2 FY17. The Company's consolidated comparable store sales increased 3% over the previous year's 4% growth. TJX's reported revenue numbers exceeded Wall Street's expectations of $8.30 billion.

For Q2 FY18, TJX's consolidated pretax profit margin was 10.7%; a 0.9% decrease compared to the prior year's corresponding quarter. The Company's gross profit margin was 28.5% for the reported quarter, down 0.9% versus the prior year's comparable quarter. This was primarily due to losses related to the Company's inventory hedges. TJX's selling, general, and administrative costs (SG&A) as a percentage of sales were 17.8% for Q2 FY18, up 0.1% versus the prior year's ratio, primarily due to wage increases.

TJX's net income was $552.96 million and diluted earnings were $0.85 per share for Q2 FY18 compared to net income of $562.17 million, or $0.84 per share, for Q2 FY17. The Company's earnings topped analysts' expectations of $0.84 per share.

Inventory

TJX's total inventories as of July 29, 2017, were $3.9 billion, flat compared to the end of Q2 FY17. As of July 29, 2017, the Company's consolidated inventories on a per-store basis, including the distribution centers, but excluding inventory in-transit and the Company's ecommerce businesses, declined 6% on both a reported basis and a constant currency basis.

Shareholder Distributions

During Q2 FY18, TJX repurchased a total of $550 million of the Company's stock, retiring 7.5 million shares. During H1 FY18, the Company repurchased a total of $900 million of TJX's stock, retiring 12 million shares. The Company now expects to repurchase approximately $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion of TJX's stock in the fiscal year 2018. Through its dividend program, under which the current dividend represents a 20% increase versus last year, the Company returned to shareholders $201 million in Q2 FY18, and $369 million in H1 FY18.

Stores by Concept

During Q2 FY18, TJX increased its store count by 51 stores to a total of 3,913 stores. The Company increased square footage by 5% over the same period of last year.

Outlook

For Q3 FY18, TJX is forecasting diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $.98 to $1.00. This would represent an 18% to 20% increase over earnings per share (EPS) of the prior year. This guidance reflects an assumption that wage increases will negatively impact EPS growth by 1%. The Company also anticipates that the combination of foreign currency and transactional foreign exchange will positively impact EPS growth by 3% and that the change in accounting rules for share-based compensation will positively impact EPS growth by an additional 2%. The Company's EPS outlook is based upon estimated consolidated comparable store sales growth of 1% to 2%.

For the 53-week fiscal year ending February 03, 2018, TJX is projecting diluted EPS in the band of $3.89 to $3.93. This represents a 12% to 14% increase over EPS of FY17.

Stock Performance

On Friday, September 01, 2017, the stock closed the trading session at $72.38, slightly up 0.11% from its previous closing price of $72.30. A total volume of 2.82 million shares have exchanged hands. TJX Cos.' stock price advanced 3.99% in the last one month. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 20.49 and has a dividend yield of 1.73%. The stock currently has a market cap of $46.26 billion.

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SOURCE: Pro-Trader Daily