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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, Macy and Best Buy
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – Dec 20, 2017 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Wal-Mart (WMT - Free Report) , Target (TGT - Free Report) , Macy (M - Free Report) and Best Buy (BBY - Free Report) .
After the news of an uptick in the U.S. consumer confidence to a 17-year high and the latest tax reform that is likely to lower the burden, retailers got another reason to smile as retail sales increased for the third straight month. The better-than-expected November retail sales added extra jingle to the holiday season that is approaching its crescendo with Christmas just a week away.
A solid start to the shopping season highlights the underlying economic strength that paved the way for a rate hike for the third time this year. Analysts believe that a buoyant stock market, gradual wage acceleration, improved employment picture and modest inflation are enough to trigger consumer spending. All these sound favorable for retailers, who try to make the most of the season that accounts for a sizeable chunk of yearly revenues and profits.
Sturdy Retail Sales
The Commerce Department stated that U.S. retail and food services sales in November advanced 0.8% to $492.7 billion — following a revised reading of 0.5% increase registered in October. Retail sales improved 5.8% from November 2016. The report suggests that sales at electronics & appliance stores rose 2.1%, while receipts at gasoline stations and sales at building material dealers jumped 2.8% and 1.2%, respectively.
Sales at motor vehicles and parts dealers dipped 0.2%, while at clothing shops the same rose 0.7%. Meanwhile, sales at food & beverage stores and receipts at restaurants witnessed growth of 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively. Sales at non-store retailers climbed 2.5% and increased 10.4% from the prior-year period.
Holiday Season: Likely Bonanza for Retailers
Healthy November retail sales only raises hope for a blissful holiday season. A blockbuster Thanksgiving weekend and buoyant Cyber Monday also echo the festive spirit. Be it early-hour store openings, huge discounts, promotional strategies, price matching and free shipping on online purchases, retailers are going that extra mile.
Online sales on Thanksgiving Day surged 18.3% to $2.87 billion, per Adobe Analytics. Bargain hunters bought $5.03 billion worth of products online on Black Friday, an increase of 16.9% from last year. The euphoria did not end here, as the shopping frenzy was palpable on Cyber Monday when online sales soared 16.8% to $6.59 billion.
Per National Retail Federation (“NRF”) an American spent about an average of $335.47 during the five-day period. Further, shopping through mobile devices was the most prominent trend which developed during this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping period, as nearly 63% of customers used their smart phones to make buying decisions, while 29% used it to actually buy goods.
Overall, NRF projects a 3.6-4% rise in November and December sales (excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales) to $678.75-$682 billion, up from $655.8 billion last year and better than the five-year average sales growth of 3.5%. Data compiled by eMarketer forecasts 3.1% jump in holiday sales (November and December) to $923.15 billion, while retail e-commerce holiday season sales are anticipated to rise 16.6%.
Wrapping Up
Retail sector is hogging all the attention, and this time for good reasons. For the time being, the expression "retail apocalypse” appears to be a thing of past. The sector has certainly been facing the brunt of heightened online competition, lower footfall and changing consumer spending patterns but of late the tables are turning in favor of the retailers.
From Amazon to Wal-Mart, Target to Macy’s to Best Buy, retailers are gearing up for the busiest part of the year. With digital transformation in shopping retailers are fast adopting the omni-channel mantra. The Retail-Wholesale sector has gained roughly 30% so far in the year, outperforming the S&P 500 index, which advanced 20.7%.
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the retail sector but what about investing in the space right now? Out of the stocks mentioned above, Wal-Mart carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while Amazon, Target, Macy’s, Best Buy and Gap carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Zacks Editor-in-Chief Goes "All In" on This Stock
Full disclosure, Kevin Matras now has more of his own money in one particular stock than in any other. He believes in its short-term profit potential and also in its prospects to more than double by 2019. Today he reveals and explains his surprising move in a new Special Report.
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year.See these high-potential stocks free >>.
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, Macy and Best Buy
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – Dec 20, 2017 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Wal-Mart (WMT - Free Report) , Target (TGT - Free Report) , Macy (M - Free Report) and Best Buy (BBY - Free Report) .
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
Retail Sales Add Extra Jingle to Christmas
After the news of an uptick in the U.S. consumer confidence to a 17-year high and the latest tax reform that is likely to lower the burden, retailers got another reason to smile as retail sales increased for the third straight month. The better-than-expected November retail sales added extra jingle to the holiday season that is approaching its crescendo with Christmas just a week away.
A solid start to the shopping season highlights the underlying economic strength that paved the way for a rate hike for the third time this year. Analysts believe that a buoyant stock market, gradual wage acceleration, improved employment picture and modest inflation are enough to trigger consumer spending. All these sound favorable for retailers, who try to make the most of the season that accounts for a sizeable chunk of yearly revenues and profits.
Sturdy Retail Sales
The Commerce Department stated that U.S. retail and food services sales in November advanced 0.8% to $492.7 billion — following a revised reading of 0.5% increase registered in October. Retail sales improved 5.8% from November 2016. The report suggests that sales at electronics & appliance stores rose 2.1%, while receipts at gasoline stations and sales at building material dealers jumped 2.8% and 1.2%, respectively.
Sales at motor vehicles and parts dealers dipped 0.2%, while at clothing shops the same rose 0.7%. Meanwhile, sales at food & beverage stores and receipts at restaurants witnessed growth of 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively. Sales at non-store retailers climbed 2.5% and increased 10.4% from the prior-year period.
Holiday Season: Likely Bonanza for Retailers
Healthy November retail sales only raises hope for a blissful holiday season. A blockbuster Thanksgiving weekend and buoyant Cyber Monday also echo the festive spirit. Be it early-hour store openings, huge discounts, promotional strategies, price matching and free shipping on online purchases, retailers are going that extra mile.
Online sales on Thanksgiving Day surged 18.3% to $2.87 billion, per Adobe Analytics. Bargain hunters bought $5.03 billion worth of products online on Black Friday, an increase of 16.9% from last year. The euphoria did not end here, as the shopping frenzy was palpable on Cyber Monday when online sales soared 16.8% to $6.59 billion.
Per National Retail Federation (“NRF”) an American spent about an average of $335.47 during the five-day period. Further, shopping through mobile devices was the most prominent trend which developed during this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping period, as nearly 63% of customers used their smart phones to make buying decisions, while 29% used it to actually buy goods.
Overall, NRF projects a 3.6-4% rise in November and December sales (excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales) to $678.75-$682 billion, up from $655.8 billion last year and better than the five-year average sales growth of 3.5%. Data compiled by eMarketer forecasts 3.1% jump in holiday sales (November and December) to $923.15 billion, while retail e-commerce holiday season sales are anticipated to rise 16.6%.
Wrapping Up
Retail sector is hogging all the attention, and this time for good reasons. For the time being, the expression "retail apocalypse” appears to be a thing of past. The sector has certainly been facing the brunt of heightened online competition, lower footfall and changing consumer spending patterns but of late the tables are turning in favor of the retailers.
From Amazon to Wal-Mart, Target to Macy’s to Best Buy, retailers are gearing up for the busiest part of the year. With digital transformation in shopping retailers are fast adopting the omni-channel mantra. The Retail-Wholesale sector has gained roughly 30% so far in the year, outperforming the S&P 500 index, which advanced 20.7%.
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the retail sector but what about investing in the space right now? Out of the stocks mentioned above, Wal-Mart carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while Amazon, Target, Macy’s, Best Buy and Gap carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Zacks Editor-in-Chief Goes "All In" on This Stock
Full disclosure, Kevin Matras now has more of his own money in one particular stock than in any other. He believes in its short-term profit potential and also in its prospects to more than double by 2019. Today he reveals and explains his surprising move in a new Special Report.
Download it free >>
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1 Stock of the Day pick for free.
About Zacks Equity Research
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year.See these high-potential stocks free >>.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.