Maidenform Brands, Inc.

Maidenform Brands, Inc. (MFB - Snapshot Report) survived the great recession based on the strength of its brand and hot shapewear sales. This Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) is expected to see yet another year of double digit earnings growth. It also has attractive valuations, with a forward P/E of just 10.5.

Maidenform Brands sells intimate apparel, including shapewear (items that women, and some men, wear underneath clothes that make you appear thinner), at department stores and other retail outlets in 64 countries.

It offers various recognizable brands such as Maidenform, Control It!, Flexees, Inspirations, Sell Expressions and Sweet Nothings. The company also produces the DKNY and Donna Karan licensed brands.

Maidenform Surprised By 6.4% in the Second Quarter

On Aug 10, Maidenform reported second quarter results and beat by 4 cents a share. Earnings were 67 cents compared with the estimate of 63 cents.

This kept the company's incredible earnings streak alive at 15 quarters. It hasn't missed since late 2007.

Sales jumped 13.8% to $170 million compared with the second quarter of 2010. Wholesale segment net sales rose 14% to $153.8 million while the retail segment net sales also rose by 11.7% to $16.2 million.

Shapewear sales are still hot, with net sales surging 33.2%. Consumers clearly can't get enough of these products.

In the wholesale segment, department and national chain store sales rose 9.8% to $69.7 million primarily due to the strength of the Maidenform brand as well as strong international and Donna Karan sales.

International sales rose 39.2% to $16.7 million mainly due to increased sales in Canada and the United Kingdom.

2011 Guidance Calls for Double Digit Earnings Growth

Maidenform provided guidance for the full year with the second quarter report.

Sales are still expected in the 10% to 12% range.

Earnings per share are forecast to be $2.18 per share, up from $1.94 made in 2010. This is earnings growth of 12.3%.

Analysts Are Even More Bullish

In just the last week, one estimate has moved higher for 2011 which has pushed the Zacks Consensus Estimate over the company's guidance of $2.18 to $2.24 per share.

That is earnings growth of 15.6%.

Shares Have Value

Like most stocks, Maidenform shares have fallen in the last few months. This has given the company an even stronger value bias.

In addition to a P/E under 15, which is what I look for in a value stock, Maidenform also has a price-to-book ratio of 2.5. A P/B ratio under 3.0 usually indicates value.

But those aren't the only value signals that Maidenform has. It also has a price-to-sales ratio of just 0.9, under the 1.0 level that usually indicates a company is undervalued.

Other solid fundamentals include a 1-year return on equity (ROE) of 24.8% which is under the average of its peers at 18.7%.

Maidenform Brands is a value stock with a consistent earnings track record. Add to that double digit earnings growth over the past 2 years and it makes for a rare value stock that also has growth.

Tracey Ryniec is the Value Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. She is also the Editor of the Turnaround Trader and Insider Trader services. You can follow her at twitter.com/traceyryniec.

Read the full analyst report on MFB