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Francesca's Holdings Corp

  • 3 Small Cap Plays on Rising Retail Sales

    By Leo Sun - May 15, 2013 | Tickers: FRAN, RUE, VRA

    A recent report from the U.S. Department of Commerce showed an unexpected jump in retail sales for April, which rose 0.5% year-on-year after an anemic 0.1% gain in March. Excluding gas and auto sales, retail sales rose 0.6%. Economists had originally projected a 0.3% decline in April.

    Strong sales of building materials, clothing, sporting goods and electronics boosted retail sales, which account for 30% of more »

  • This Retail Boutique Might Experience Further Price Correction

    By Anh HOANG - March 28, 2013 | Tickers: ANN, FRAN, URBN

    Francesca’s Holdings (NASDAQ: FRAN) is a typical growth stock with decent price performance. Since the beginning of 2012 it has advanced from $17.30 per share to around $28.50 per share. The market values this retail boutique chain quite expensively at 14.9 times EV/EBITDA and more than 18 times its book value.

    In addition, Francesca seems to be a favorite stock of many investment managers, including more »

  • This Stock Is Dressing Up

    By Marshall Hargrave - March 22, 2013 | Tickers: ANN, EXPR, FRAN, JOSB, MW

    It appears that The Men’s Wearhouse (NYSE: MW) has caught the attention of investors, with the stock moving up over 15% in a single day last week. Have no fear, there is still room for Men's Wearhouse to move higher; the stock is still 20% below its 52-week high. 

    The run up was due to the news that shows that Men's Wearhouse has engaged Jefferies to evaluate more »

  • The One Brick-And-Mortar Retailer To Invest In

    By George Liu - February 14, 2013 | Tickers: FRAN, JCP, M

    In today's cutthroat retail environment, shops have to be extremely flexible in order to survive. Francesca's Holdings (NASDAQ: FRAN) epitomizes this flexibility in the retail industry, operating a chain of retail boutiques under the Francesca’s collections brand in the United States. A huge part of Francesca's Holdings' business model is affordability, which is definitely smart considering the weakness of the U.S. economy and the strong more »

  • Is Francesca's a Retail Succss or Just a Fad?

    By Mark Holder - February 4, 2013 | Tickers: ANN, FRAN, URBN

    Based on research, Francesca’s Holdings (NASDAQ: FRAN) seems to be on a winning streak. The company started in 1999 in Houston and currently operates over 360 boutiques. The stores have a one of a kind upscale feel, caters to 18-35 year old women and allow managers to personalize each store providing the impression of individual stores.

    Francesca’s collection carries limited quantities of items to create a so-called treasure more »

  • A Stock for the Stoic Investor

    By Jonathan Lim - February 1, 2013 | Tickers: ASNA, FRAN, CATO, TJX

    Mr. Market favors the stoic investor, though he dares not admit it. In fact, he tries to mask this preference, allowing the emotional investor to triumph in the short term. But should the latter be so foolish (not to be confused with Foolish) as to overestimate the duration of his or her lucky streak, there goes all the gains.

    The real strength of a dispassionate approach lies in the ability more »

  • Cheap, Quickly Growing Stocks for 2013 (Last Part)

    By Anh HOANG - January 4, 2013 | Tickers: ANN, FRAN, POZN, URBN

    This is the last article in my 3 part series about a growth portfolio with high return but cheaply valued stocks in 2013. I have talked about 4 stocks, each of which fits perfectly our four criteria: (1) more than 25% EPS growth, (2) more than 25% return on investment, (3) no long-term debt, and (4) below 1x Price-to-Earnings Growth ratio. Those already-covered stocks are Apple, American Public Education, Baidu more »

  • Insiders Are Telling You to Buy These Stocks

    By Brian Nichols - December 29, 2012 | Tickers: ANF, CYTX, FRAN, ODP

    Let’s not fool ourselves, an insider knows what’s going to happen before it happens. They have a good grasp on sales, demand, supply, and other operational metrics that are vital to success. Therefore, when an insider purchases shares of his or her company, it might be a sign of what’s to come. Therefore, I am looking at a few top insider buys, along with one major institutional more »

  • Cedar Fair, Weatherford, and More Stocks Insiders Are Buying

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - December 28, 2012 | Tickers: FUN, FRAN, NAV, OFG, WFT

    Insider purchases are worth tracking because on average, though not always, stocks bought by insiders outperform the market (Read about academic studies on insider trading). This can be helpful in a couple different ways. When researching a stock, for example, investors can consider insider activity as one of the many factors that go into an investment decision. Another way to use insider activity is to take a quick look at more »

  • These Five Stocks Had Insiders Buy Shares

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - December 17, 2012 | Tickers: AYR, FBHS, FRAN, HMA, CLX

    Sales of stock by insiders can indicate that the insiders are negative about the company’s prospects, but not always; it is rational to diversify, and if an insider already depends on a company for a portion of their income it can make sense to sell, even if they have neutral feelings about the stock. Purchases by insiders are another story. The same logic explaining why insiders might sell even more »

  • Insiders Are Going Shopping at Francesca’s

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - December 14, 2012 | Tickers: ANN, FRAN, LTD, KORS, ULTA

    Our database of insider trading filings shows three insiders at Francesca’s Holdings (NASDAQ: FRAN) buying the stock on December 12th at prices generally between $23.20 and $23.60. CEO John Merritt bought 10,000 shares, an executive vice president bought about 4,200 shares, and Neill Davis, the company’s president, purchased 3,000 shares. The stock had already seen a round of insider buying in September more »

  • Buy This Specialty Retailer for a High Growth Portfolio

    By Anh HOANG - December 12, 2012 | Tickers: ANN, FRAN, URBN

    Francesca’s Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: FRAN) just received the upgrade from Jefferies from Hold to Buy with a price target of $38 per share, due to its lower valuation, new management, and attractive operating characteristics. It is currently trading at only $23.83 per share. This means that Jefferies put a high price target of nearly 60% above its current price. It sounds attractive, so should we follow?

    Business overview more »

  • 5 Stocks Insiders Are Buying Recently

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - September 13, 2012 | Tickers: CALX, ENOC, FRAN, JMBA, SRPT

    We like to keep track of buying and selling by company insiders, particularly when insiders purchase a stock. Because insiders’ income often depends on the company’s prospects, and in other cases they have some of their wealth tied to the company already, the rational thing is to invest elsewhere and diversify- unless the insider is so confident that the expected rise in the stock trumps the benefits of diversification more »

  • Earnings Up, Shares Down

    By riddhi kharkia - September 11, 2012 | Tickers: ANN, CHS, FRAN, URBN

    Retail continues to be a bright spot for the U.S. economy as consumers are cautiously opening their purses and wallets when they find good deals, as the recent retail earning reports suggest.

    Retail Boutique Company, Francesca (NASDAQ: FRAN) reported earnings above analysts’ expectations for the second quarter 2012 earnings, which sent shares of the boutique clothing company rallying by nearly 30% since it made its market debut last year more »

  • This Company’s President Bought $700,000 In Stock

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - September 10, 2012 | Tickers: ANN, FNP, FRAN, MW, URBN

    On September 7th, Neill Davis directly acquired 25,000 shares of Francesca’s Holdings (NASDAQ: FRAN) at an average price of $28.37 per share. The stock dived on the day, finishing down 7% but rising to about $28.25 after hours. Davis, the former CFO of The Men’s Wearhouse (NYSE: MW), now owns a total of 65,000 shares in the retailer of women’s apparel and more »

  • Should This Luxury Brand Be Coaching Your Portfolio?

    By Ryan Guenette - September 6, 2012 | Tickers: COH, PSS, FRAN, GES, KORS

    Coach Incorporated (NYSE: COH) is a marketer of fine accessories for both genders. Their vast portfolio of products includes bags, business cases, footwear, jewelry, sun wear, travel bags, watches, and fragrances, but is mostly famously known for its women’s pocketbooks. The company distributes its products through its Coach Retail stores, the electronic store on the Coach website, and about 1,000 United States department stores.  Over the past 5 more »

  • No Positive Surprise for Aeropostale in Q2

    By j.a. graham - August 25, 2012 | Tickers: ANF, ARO, AEO, FRAN

    Aeropostale’s (NYSE: ARO) share price has benefited from a history of giving lowball guidance and then over-delivering on results. This is not an unusual tactic and companies giving conservative guidance are not anathema to investors. Conservative guidance is preferable to promising results the company has no hope of seeing. Gratification is often immediate as the share price increases on optimistic guidance, but a disappointed market will mercilessly kill a more »

  • Personas Shoppers

    By AnnaLisa Kraft - August 23, 2012 | Tickers: FRAN, KSS, LULU, NKE, WFM

    What do women want? Isn’t that the age old question? A professor of marketing, Edward M. Tauber published a groundbreaking article in 1972 entitled “Why Do People Shop?” in the Journal of Marketing. His study turned on its head the conventional wisdom that women, or people, just shop to get what they need or want.  Professor Tauber proved there are many more motives and drives, both personal and social more »

  • Francesca's Beautiful Boutique

    By j.a. graham - August 7, 2012 | Tickers: FRAN, LULU

    Broad and shallow is beautiful in boutiques -- in people not so much.

    Francesca’s (NASDAQ: FRAN) is a broad, shallow, semi-fast retailer that is in the midst of some rather amazing growth.

    Broad, shallow refers to a big selection of merchandise but a small inventory of each of the items. Francesca’s says the strategy creates a sense of newness and exclusivity. When the consumer does not see a six-foot more »

  • A Blockbuster Quarter for Michael Kors

    By Himanshu Poddar - June 20, 2012 | Tickers: FRAN, KORS

    Apparel IPOs have snatched all the attention and interest of the investors this quarter by outperforming their well established peers. They have managed to buck the trend and the market sentiment, bringing back hope and delight among investors while showing signs of recovery in the industry. Sometime ago the retail boutique operator Francesca’s Holdings (NASDAQ: FRAN) posted first quarter earnings growth of 100%, topping Mr. Market’s expectations. The more »