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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Five Below, Dollar Tree, Kohl's, Target and The TJX Companies
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 23, 2026 – 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: Five Below, Inc. (FIVE - Free Report) , Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR - Free Report) , Kohl's Corp. (KSS - Free Report) , Target Corp. (TGT - Free Report) and The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
5 Solid Retail Stocks to Grab as Sales Roar Despite High Inflation
Inflation climbed in August and remains a major concern, which led the Federal Reserve to finally hike interest rates for the first time in three years. However, despite continued inflationary pressures, the retail sector has performed well.
Consumers continued to spend aggressively, which saw retail sales grow at a solid pace in August. Given this situation, it would be ideal to invest in retail stocks with a strong online presence. We have selected five stocks, namely, Five Below, Inc., Dollar Tree, Inc., Kohl's Corp., Target Corp. and The TJX Companies, Inc..
Retail Sales Grow
Retail sales grew 1.2% in August, recording the largest increase since March after declining a revised 0.5% in July, the Commerce Department reported last week. The decline in July was the first in nine months, indicating the robust growth for the sector this year.
The jump in August retail sales also surpassed analysts' expectations of a rise of 0.8%. Year over year, retail sales grew 0.6%. Although higher gasoline prices were partially responsible for the rise in retail sales, consumers also continued to spend aggressively on a range of goods.
Consumers have continued to spend at a solid pace despite high inflation as producer and consumer prices jumped in August. Households have been saving less and spending more. The rise in sales in August was to a large extent led by a 2.6% jump in receipts at non-store retailers.
Sales at vehicles and parts dealers climbed 0.6%. Also, back-to-school purchases boosted receipts at clothing stores by 0.7%. Sales at food services and drinking place, the only service category in the retail sales report, jumped a solid 1.2%. Retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services rose 1.4% in August, the largest increase since September 2024, after declining 0.4% in July.
The retail sales report comes just days after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by a quarter percentage point in its bid to combat sky-high inflation.
However, the rise in retail sales shows the economy's resilience. Surging oil prices have played a major role in pushing inflation higher, as tensions continue in the Middle East. However, inflation is likely to ease once oil prices stabilize. This is likely to boost the retail sector in the near term.
5 Retail Stocks with Upside
Five Below, Inc.
Five Below is a specialty value chain retailer that provides a wide range of premium quality and trendy merchandise for $5 or below. FIVE mainly targets teenagers or pre-teen shoppers for its products, which include certain brands and licensed merchandise. Notably, these products belong to categories such as Style, Room, Sports, Tech, Create, Party, Candy and Now.
Five Below's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 57.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 15.2% over the past 60 days. FIVE presently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree, Inc. is an operator of discount variety stores offering merchandise and other assortments. DLTR's stores successfully operate in major metropolitan areas, mid-sized cities and small towns. Dollar Tree offers a wide range of quality everyday general merchandise in many categories, including houseware, seasonal goods, candy and food, toys, health and beauty care, gifts, party goods, stationery, books, personal accessories, and other consumer items.
Dollar Tree's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 34.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dollar Tree's current-year earnings has improved 10.6% over the past 60 days. DLTR has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Kohl's Corp.
Kohl's offers moderately priced apparel, footwear and accessories for women, men and children, along with beauty and home products. KSS targets value-oriented, moderate-income households and combines national brands with proprietary and exclusive brands.
Kohl's Corporation's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 24.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dollar Tree's current-year earnings has improved 48.5% over the past 60 days. KSS has a Zacks Rank #1.
Target Corp.
Target has evolved from being a pure brick-and-mortar retailer to an omni-channel entity. TGT has been investing in technologies, improving websites and mobile apps, and modernizing the supply chain to keep pace with the changing retail landscape and better compete with pure e-commerce players.
Target Corporation's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 37.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 25.1% over the past 60 days. Target currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
The TJX Companies
The TJX Companies, Inc. is a leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the United States and worldwide. TJX's broad range of assortments at varying prices helps it reach out to a broad range of consumers. In addition, The TJX Companies tries to attract consumers through a rapid turn of inventories.
The TJX Companies' expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 10.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.2% over the past 60 days. TJX presently has a Zacks Rank #2.
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
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.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Five Below, Dollar Tree, Kohl's, Target and The TJX Companies
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 23, 2026 – 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: Five Below, Inc. (FIVE - Free Report) , Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR - Free Report) , Kohl's Corp. (KSS - Free Report) , Target Corp. (TGT - Free Report) and The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
5 Solid Retail Stocks to Grab as Sales Roar Despite High Inflation
Inflation climbed in August and remains a major concern, which led the Federal Reserve to finally hike interest rates for the first time in three years. However, despite continued inflationary pressures, the retail sector has performed well.
Consumers continued to spend aggressively, which saw retail sales grow at a solid pace in August. Given this situation, it would be ideal to invest in retail stocks with a strong online presence. We have selected five stocks, namely, Five Below, Inc., Dollar Tree, Inc., Kohl's Corp., Target Corp. and The TJX Companies, Inc..
Retail Sales Grow
Retail sales grew 1.2% in August, recording the largest increase since March after declining a revised 0.5% in July, the Commerce Department reported last week. The decline in July was the first in nine months, indicating the robust growth for the sector this year.
The jump in August retail sales also surpassed analysts' expectations of a rise of 0.8%. Year over year, retail sales grew 0.6%. Although higher gasoline prices were partially responsible for the rise in retail sales, consumers also continued to spend aggressively on a range of goods.
Consumers have continued to spend at a solid pace despite high inflation as producer and consumer prices jumped in August. Households have been saving less and spending more. The rise in sales in August was to a large extent led by a 2.6% jump in receipts at non-store retailers.
Sales at vehicles and parts dealers climbed 0.6%. Also, back-to-school purchases boosted receipts at clothing stores by 0.7%. Sales at food services and drinking place, the only service category in the retail sales report, jumped a solid 1.2%. Retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services rose 1.4% in August, the largest increase since September 2024, after declining 0.4% in July.
The retail sales report comes just days after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by a quarter percentage point in its bid to combat sky-high inflation.
However, the rise in retail sales shows the economy's resilience. Surging oil prices have played a major role in pushing inflation higher, as tensions continue in the Middle East. However, inflation is likely to ease once oil prices stabilize. This is likely to boost the retail sector in the near term.
5 Retail Stocks with Upside
Five Below, Inc.
Five Below is a specialty value chain retailer that provides a wide range of premium quality and trendy merchandise for $5 or below. FIVE mainly targets teenagers or pre-teen shoppers for its products, which include certain brands and licensed merchandise. Notably, these products belong to categories such as Style, Room, Sports, Tech, Create, Party, Candy and Now.
Five Below's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 57.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 15.2% over the past 60 days. FIVE presently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree, Inc. is an operator of discount variety stores offering merchandise and other assortments. DLTR's stores successfully operate in major metropolitan areas, mid-sized cities and small towns. Dollar Tree offers a wide range of quality everyday general merchandise in many categories, including houseware, seasonal goods, candy and food, toys, health and beauty care, gifts, party goods, stationery, books, personal accessories, and other consumer items.
Dollar Tree's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 34.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dollar Tree's current-year earnings has improved 10.6% over the past 60 days. DLTR has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Kohl's Corp.
Kohl's offers moderately priced apparel, footwear and accessories for women, men and children, along with beauty and home products. KSS targets value-oriented, moderate-income households and combines national brands with proprietary and exclusive brands.
Kohl's Corporation's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 24.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dollar Tree's current-year earnings has improved 48.5% over the past 60 days. KSS has a Zacks Rank #1.
Target Corp.
Target has evolved from being a pure brick-and-mortar retailer to an omni-channel entity. TGT has been investing in technologies, improving websites and mobile apps, and modernizing the supply chain to keep pace with the changing retail landscape and better compete with pure e-commerce players.
Target Corporation's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 37.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 25.1% over the past 60 days. Target currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
The TJX Companies
The TJX Companies, Inc. is a leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the United States and worldwide. TJX's broad range of assortments at varying prices helps it reach out to a broad range of consumers. In addition, The TJX Companies tries to attract consumers through a rapid turn of inventories.
The TJX Companies' expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 10.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.2% over the past 60 days. TJX presently has a Zacks Rank #2.
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Get all the details here >>
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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.