NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 18, 2017 / TJX Companies didn't exactly have a stellar first quarter earnings report, but Morgan Stanley seems to have faith in the retail company and this made traders a little optimistic in Wednesday's trading. American Eagles wasn't so lucky. Traders were anything but optimistic after the company reported a disappointing earnings report for Q1.

RDI Initiates Coverage on:

The TJX Companies, Inc.
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=TJX

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=AEO

The TJX Companies, Inc.'s shares closed up 1.37% on Wednesday, despite a less than impressive earnings report for the first quarter earlier in the week. The company, which owns TJ Maxx and Marshalls, reported that its comp store sales saw only a 1% improvement during the period. Analysts had been expecting a 1.5% improvement. Sales at $7.8 billion also came in below the $7.9 billion that the Street had waited for. EPS of 82 cents however did beat the consensus estimate of 79 cents. What could have helped sparked investor confidence was that Morgan Stanley released a note on Wednesday rating the stock as "overweight" now from "equal weight." They also gave an $86 price target. Shares closed at $74.77 yesterday so that price target would offer some pretty nice upside. CEO Ernie Hermann commented, We achieved [our first-quarter] results despite the unfavorable weather in parts of the U.S. and Canada compared to last year. With our disciplined inventory management, our merchandise margin was up, which speaks to the resiliency and flexibility of our off-price retail model.

Access RDI's The TJX Companies Research Report at:
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=TJX

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.'s shares crumbled to a new 52-week low on Wednesday and closed down 14.74%. Investors were less than kind after the retailer released a bleak outlook and dragged the stock down to a three year low of $10.91. CFO Bob Madore commented, "We've been experimenting with closures of stores where we're really able to track sales migration." Apparently the company is planning on closing 25-40 stores this year and traders were concerned. CEO Jay Schottenstein said in the company's conference call with analysts yesterday, "As we look ahead, we are taking the right steps to improve our results and adjust our business for today's rapidly evolving retail environment." Revenues for the first quarter came in at $762 million while the Zacks Consensus Estimate had been looking for $744 million.

Access RDI's American Eagle Outfitters Research Report at:
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=AEO

Our Actionable Research on The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) and American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) can be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.

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SOURCE: RDInvesting.com