On Wednesday, shares of Target Corp. (TGT - Free Report) are sliding, down around 6% in afternoon trading after the retailer reported disappointing sales during the recent holiday season.
Target said that comparable sales fell 1.3% in November and December; any gains seen in its online business were outshone by increased difficulty in getting customers into its stores, a common problem among brick-and-mortar retailers, as well as stiff price competition from Walmart (WMT - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , and Best Buy (BBY - Free Report) .
"While we significantly outpaced the industry's digital performance, the costs associated with the accelerated mix shift between our stores and digital channels and a highly promotional competitive environment had a negative impact on our fourth quarter margins and earnings per share,” Target CEO Brian Cornell said in a statement.
Going into the holiday season, Target was facing many challenges. Its digital and marketing chiefs had both recently left the company, while Mark Tritton, chief merchant, was overseeing his first holiday season with the company. Plus, its pharmacy deal with CVS Health (CVS - Free Report) and its grocery business have negatively affected store traffic.
As a result, Target now expects Q4 comparable sales to decrease between 1% and 1.5%, compared with previous expectations of a decline in the range of down 1% and up 1%. Adjusted earnings are estimated between $1.45 per share, down from the prior guidance of $1.55 to $1.75 per share.
For more information on other retailers’ holiday performance, check out the Zacks article “Is 2017 the Year of the Retail Famine?”
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? As of early December, the 2016 Top 10 produced 5 double-digit winners including oil and natural gas giant Pioneer Natural Resources which racked up a stellar +50% gain. The new list is painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Be among the very first to see it>>
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
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It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
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On Wednesday, shares of Target Corp. (TGT - Free Report) are sliding, down around 6% in afternoon trading after the retailer reported disappointing sales during the recent holiday season.
Target said that comparable sales fell 1.3% in November and December; any gains seen in its online business were outshone by increased difficulty in getting customers into its stores, a common problem among brick-and-mortar retailers, as well as stiff price competition from Walmart (WMT - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , and Best Buy (BBY - Free Report) .
"While we significantly outpaced the industry's digital performance, the costs associated with the accelerated mix shift between our stores and digital channels and a highly promotional competitive environment had a negative impact on our fourth quarter margins and earnings per share,” Target CEO Brian Cornell said in a statement.
Going into the holiday season, Target was facing many challenges. Its digital and marketing chiefs had both recently left the company, while Mark Tritton, chief merchant, was overseeing his first holiday season with the company. Plus, its pharmacy deal with CVS Health (CVS - Free Report) and its grocery business have negatively affected store traffic.
As a result, Target now expects Q4 comparable sales to decrease between 1% and 1.5%, compared with previous expectations of a decline in the range of down 1% and up 1%. Adjusted earnings are estimated between $1.45 per share, down from the prior guidance of $1.55 to $1.75 per share.
For more information on other retailers’ holiday performance, check out the Zacks article “Is 2017 the Year of the Retail Famine?”
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? As of early December, the 2016 Top 10 produced 5 double-digit winners including oil and natural gas giant Pioneer Natural Resources which racked up a stellar +50% gain. The new list is painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Be among the very first to see it>>
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
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