rue21

• 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 »

• Is This Stock Worth Buying?

  By Shas Dey - April 3, 2013 | Tickers: ARO, AEO, RUE

  rue21 (NASDAQ: RUE), a specialty apparel retailer, reported 4Q12 results with sales increasing 22.4% to $269 million, compared to consensus estimates of $203 million. Same-store sales edged up 0.5% as against expectations of negative low-single digits. Further, despite the promotional environment, gross margin improved 110 basis points to 37.6%. In line with its peers, it has guided for (2)% same store sales in 1Q13. Let us compare more »

• Body Central: A New Hope

  By William Bias - March 18, 2013 | Tickers: BODY, RUE, WTSL

  Apparel retailer Body Central (NASDAQ: BODY) struggled throughout 2012. Same store sales and net income fell 8.1% and 40% respectively. Operating margins declined 44 basis points to 6.2% during the year. February 2013 saw the beginnings of new hope with the appointment of a new CEO, the ousting of merchandising Vice President Beth Angelo, and the installation of a new merchandising team. Body Central may serve as an more »

• Avoid This Retailing Value Trap

  By William Bias - January 22, 2013 | Tickers: BODY, RUE, WTSL

  On Jan. 15, Body Central (NASDAQ: BODY), a specialty apparel retailer catering to young women,  announced 4^th quarter 2012 sales results and issued another downward revision in guidance. Net revenue increased a microscopic 0.4% with comparable sales (stores open longer than a year) declining 12%. Full year EPS guidance now hovers in the $0.68 to $0.70 per share range representing a 44% to 43% decline from the $1.22 reported in 2011. Body Central’s stock declined 65% since the beginning of 2012 (see chart below) and currently trades with a P/E of roughly 9. With that said, Body Central is a value trap to be avoided.

• This Retailer is Too Cheap to Ignore

  By Anh HOANG - November 21, 2012 | Tickers: ARO, BODY, RUE

  With the small cap series, I would like to talk about small cap opportunities the value investing way. Warren Buffett mentioned that he could make higher returns with a smaller amount of capital, such as 50% yearly on $1 million dollars.  I think with a small amount of capital, he would focus on undervalued stocks with little analyst coverage and competition from other investors. However, the small cap stock might more »

• The Trip to the Bottom Continues…..

  By William Bias - November 9, 2012 | Tickers: BODY, RUE, WTSL |

  On Nov. 1, specialty apparel retailer Body Central (NASDAQ: BODY) came out with its earnings announcement and had its conference call. This announcement confirms that Body Central’s trip to the fundamental bottom continues. Its comparable store sales declined 12%. Net revenue edged ahead a mere 1.2% due to unjustified store expansion. Net income declined to $153,000 versus $2.8 million this time last year. After four months of observing Body Central I came up with four issues that this company can’t seem to resolve. It’s “curtains” for this company unless they can come up with some viable solutions for these problems.

• What Caused This Retailer's Runaway Run-Up?

  By William Bias - October 5, 2012 | Tickers: BODY, RUE, WTSL

  Body Central (NASDAQ: BODY), a lady's apparel retailer catering to women in their teens and twenties, has shot up 24% in the past month. No buyout rumors or hot product lineup seems to have driven this sudden surge. Instead, these four reasons may explain why Body Central's shares rose -- and whether they'll keep rising.

• This Apparel Maker has an Overlooked Jewel!

  By Daniel Sparks - September 14, 2012 | Tickers: COLM, NKE, ZQK, RUE, BKE

  A few weeks ago I wrote an article on Quiksilver (NYSE: ZQK) entitled, Quiksilver: An Undervalued Turnaround. On the day I wrote it, Quiksilver was trading $3.05 per share. Quiksilver's stock soared higher after its earnings release and it is now trading around $3.61 per share, up over 18%. Now a question lingers for Quiksilver investors: Is Quiksilver still undervalued? I believe it is. In fact, I more »

• Body Central Continues to Struggle

  By William Bias - August 7, 2012 | Tickers: BODY, RUE, WTSL

  In, Is Body Central a Value Trap?, I talked about how Body Central’s (NASDAQ: BODY) 66% decline from its 52 week high to the price of $10.56 on 07/09/12 was a value trap because of a decline in same store sales of 1.4%. It had a total debt to equity ratio of 48% as of the 1^st quarter and growth in free cash flow of 54% between fiscal years 2009-2011, which is excellent, but I saw the decline in same store sales as the beginning of a worrisome trend. I also discussed how management didn’t expect any improvement until the holiday season. The earnings announcement that came out on August 2, 2012 is not doing anything to change my mind about the continuation of the worrisome trend. The stock price has dropped another 23% as of close on 08/06/12.

• Is Body Central a Value Trap?

  By William Bias - July 13, 2012 | Tickers: BODY, RUE, WTSL

  As a value investor I look for companies that have experienced steep declines in stock prices and still have excellent fundamentals such as excellent growth in free cash flow, low debt to equity ratios, and high return on equity. Sometimes a company can fall for a good reason such as threats to the underlying business -- new competitors, declining demand for a product or obsolescence. This is called a value trap. The saying goes if it’s too good to be true then it generally is. If I see a stock price that has fallen then there is a good possibility that there is a good reason for it. >>More

• The Good and the Bad for Talbots: What about the Ugly?

  By Rita Chattaraj - May 29, 2012 | Tickers: ASNA, KSS, RUE, TLB

  On Friday, the stocks of Massachusetts-based retailer Talbots (NYSE: TLB) took a hit as the company offered strong bad news and relatively weaker good news. The troubled retailer, which was in talks with a private equity firm Sycamore Partners for getting acquired, announced that the deal was off and as an instant reaction of Wall Street, the stock price plunged 41%. Even the company’s improved fiscal 2012 first quarter more »

• You'll RUE The Day You Short This Stock

  By Chad Henage - March 26, 2012 | Tickers: ANF, AEO, RUE

  Sometimes shorts bet against stocks that seem to have all the right numbers, in all the right places. On a recent screen using Motley Fool CAPS Screener, I found rue21, Inc. (NASDAQ: RUE). As a percentage of float, 44% of rue21 shares are sold short. The amazing part is in the last 3 years, rue21 has over 20% revenue growth, and nearly 40% EPS growth. In addition, rue21 has an over 30% return on equity. With the CEO Robert Fisch owning over 1 million shares, he has a vested interest in making this company successful. So why are shorts betting against this company?