Upcoming AWS Coverage on The Bon-Ton Stores Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / June 2, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on The TJX Cos., Inc. (NYSE: TJX). The Company disclosed its first quarter fiscal 2018 financial results on May 16, 2017. The owner of off-price chains T.J. Maxx and Marshalls reported earnings that came in ahead of market expectations. TJX Cos. also provided guidance for the upcoming quarter and fiscal 2018. Register with us now for your free membership at: http://www.activewallst.com/register/.

One of The TJX Cos.' competitors within the Department Stores space, The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT), reported on May 18, 2017, its operating results for Q1 FY17 which ended on April 29, 2017. AWS will be initiating a research report on The Bon-Ton Stores in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on TJX; touching on BONT. Get our free coverage by signing up to: http://www.activewallst.com/register/.

Earnings Reviewed

For the first quarter ended April 29, 2017, TJX's net sales increased 3% to $7.78 billion compared to net sales of $7.54 billion in Q1 2016. The Company's sales numbers lagged behind analyst's consensus estimates of $7.88 billion. TJX's consolidated comparable store sales increased 1% over the prior year's growth of 7%.

For Q1 FY18, the Framingham, Massachusetts-headquartered Company reported net income of $536.3 million, or $0.82 per share, compared to $508.3 million, or $0.76 per share. TJX's earnings numbers came in ahead of Wall Street's expectations of $0.79 per share.

Margins

For Q1 FY18, TJX's consolidated pretax profit margin was 10.7%, a 0.2% drop on a y-o-y basis. The Company's gross profit margin for the reported quarter was 29.0%, up 0.2% on a y-o-y basis. This was primarily due to gains related to TJX's inventory hedges and a strong merchandise margin, partially offset by higher supply chain costs and expense deleverage on the 1% consolidated comparable store sales increase.

During Q1 FY18, TJX's selling, general, and administrative costs as a percent of sales were 18.1%, up 0.4% versus the prior year's ratio, primarily due to wage increases.

Inventory

TJX's total inventories as of April 29, 2017, were $3.7 billion compared with $3.9 billion at the end of Q1 FY17. The Company's consolidated inventories on a per-store basis as of April 29, 2017, including the distribution centers, but excluding inventory in transit and the Company's ecommerce businesses, were down 9% on a reported basis versus a 7% increase on both a reported and constant currency basis last year.

Shareholder Distributions

During Q1 FY18, the Company repurchased a total of $350 million of TJX's stock, retiring 4.5 million shares. The Company continues to expect the repurchase of approximately $1.3 billion to $1.8 billion of TJX's stock in fiscal 2018. Additionally, TJX increased its dividend by 20% in the reported quarter, marking this the 21st consecutive year of dividend increase.

Stores by Concept

During Q1 FY18, TJX increased its store count by 50 stores to a total of 3,862 stores. The Company increased square footage by 4% over the same period last year.

Outlook

For Q2 FY18, TJX expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.81 to $0.83 compared to $0.84 last year. This guidance reflects an assumption that the combination of foreign currency and transactional foreign exchange will negatively impact EPS growth by 4% and that wage increases will negatively impact EPS growth by an additional 2%. The Company also expects the change in accounting rules for share-based compensation will positively impact EPS growth by 1%. This 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 expects diluted earnings per share in the range of $3.82 to $3.89. This represents a 10% to 12% increase over the prior year's $3.46. The Company's full-year guidance includes an expected benefit of approximately $0.11 per share from the 53rd week in the Company's Fiscal 2018 calendar.

Stock Performance

The TJX Cos.' share price finished yesterday's trading session at $75.90, marginally advancing 0.92%. A total volume of 2.77 million shares exchanged hands. Since the start of the year, shares of the Company have gained 1.02%. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 21.54 and has a dividend yield of 1.65%. At Thursday's closing price, the stock's net capitalization stands at $48.82 billion.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street