Should a surgeon operate on his or her own family member? Is a psychologist's spouse a good candidate for his or her own couch? Professional and personal relationships usually shouldn't mix -- the emotional component too easily undermines sound decisions. When it comes to public companies' operations, investors should look for unbiased, transparent leadership and truly independent boards of directors.
In some cases, corporate managements flagrantly disregard independent, impersonal approaches to management and boards. Instead, they blur the lines between personal and professional, a practice that should have shareholders concerned.�
All in the family
For several years, activist shareholders have pushed for board diversity at Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN ) . Although the retailer caters to a heck of a lot of female customers, not one woman has served on the company's board of directors.
Hot Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Macy’s Inc (M)
Macy�s, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates stores and Internet Websites in the United States. Its retail stores and Internet Web sites sell a range of merchandise, including apparel and accessories for men, women, and children; cosmetics; home furnishings; and other consumer goods. The company also operates Bloomingdale�s Outlet stores that offer a range of apparel and accessories, including ready-to-wear, shoes, fashion accessories, jewelry, handbags, and intimate apparel products. As of January 28, 2012, it operated approximately 840 stores under the names of Macy�s and Bloomingdale�s; and 7 Bloomingdale�s Outlet stores, as well as macys.com and bloomingdales.com. The company was formerly known as Federated Department Stores, Inc. and changed its name to Macy�s, Inc. in June 2007. Macy�s, Inc. was founded in 1820 and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dividend Stocks Online]
Rating: 95/100. Mattel has a dividend yield of 3.1% and a 5 year dividend growth rate of 10.2%. It has raised its dividend for the last 3 years and has a payout ratio of 46%. Mattel has a 3 year net income growth rate of 26.5% and the stock is up 31% over the last 12 months. We would like to see a higher dividend yield and consistent annual dividend increases from Mattel before we can rate the stock higher.
Hot Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)
Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sam Collins]
Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) is a leading operator of discount variety stores. The stock has hugged its 50-day moving average since mid-February. But a recent minor revision of earnings for this year by several analysts and the recent market sell-off have resulted in a fall from its high of the year at over $70 to under $66. However, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) increased its price target to $73 from $69.
Technically DLTR is oversold, according to MACD. A break below its 50-day moving average could result in a pullback to $64, but positions could be taken at the current market price. The trading target for DLTR is $72.
Best Oil Companies To Own For 2014: Officemax Incorporated(OMX)
OfficeMax Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, distributes business-to-business and retail office products. Its Contract segment markets and sells office supplies and paper, technology products and solutions, office furniture, and print and document services directly to large corporate and government offices, as well as to small and medium-sized offices through field salespeople, outbound telesales, catalogs, Internet, and office products stores. As of December 31, 2011, this segment operated 38 distribution centers in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand; 4 customer service and outbound telesales centers in the United States; and 47 office products stores in Canada, Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand. The company?s Retail segment markets and sells office supplies and paper, print and document services, technology products and solutions, and office furniture to small and medium-sized businesses and consumers through a network of reta il stores. As of December 31, 2011, this segment operated 978 stores in the United States and Mexico; 3 large distribution centers in the United States; and 1 small distribution center in Mexico. The company, formerly known as Boise Cascade Corporation, was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.
Hot Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Family Dollar Stores Inc.(FDO)
Family Dollar Stores, Inc. operates a chain of self-service retail discount stores primarily for low and middle income consumers in the United States. The company offers consumables, including household chemicals, paper products, candy and snack products, health and beauty aids, hardware and automotive supplies, and pet food products and supplies; and home products, which comprise domestics, housewares, giftware products, and home decor products. It also provides apparel products and accessories consisting of men?s and women?s clothing products, boys? and girls? clothing products, infants? clothing products, shoes, and fashion accessories; and seasonal products and electronics, such as toys, stationery and school supplies, seasonal goods, and personal electronics. As of August 11, 2011, the company operated approximately 7,000 stores in rural and urban settings across 44 states. Family Dollar Stores, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina .
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sy_Harding]
My second retail value stock is clearly a value stock: Family Dollar Stores (FDO -0.20%, news). Operating in the intensely competitive discount retail segment at a time when its customer base was feeling the brunt of the slow recovery, Family Dollar managed to grow same-store sales 4.8% in fiscal 2011, with a 5% to 7% increase projected for fiscal 2012 and to improve its market position by shifting its merchandise mix and moving into urban neighborhoods. The stock trades at about 18 times trailing 12-month earnings per share and just about 13 times forward projected earnings. Wall Street analysts are looking for 23.6% earnings growth in the quarter that ends in February 2012.
Hot Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Lowe's Companies Inc.(LOW)
Lowe's Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company offers a range of products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, home decorating, and property maintenance. It provides home improvement products in the categories of appliances, lumber, paint, millwork, building materials, lawn and landscape products, flooring, rough plumbing, seasonal living, tools, hardware, fashion plumbing, lighting, nursery, outdoor power equipment, cabinets and countertops, home organization, rough electrical, and home fashion, as well as boards, panel products, irrigation pipes, vinyl sidings, and ladders. The company also offers installation services through independent contractors in various product categories. Lowe's Companies serves homeowners and renters primarily consisting of do-it-yourself customers and do-it-for-me customers; and commercial business customers, who work in the construction, rep air/remodel, commercial and residential property management, or business maintenance professions. As of August 15, 2011, it operated approximately 1,725 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company also offers its products through electronic product catalogs and Lowes.com. Lowe's Companies, Inc. was founded in 1952 and is based in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Hesler]
Lowe's Companies is a home improvement retailer. LOW recently traded at $19.3 and has a 2.9% dividend yield. LOW lost 4.6% during the past 12 months. The stock has a market cap of $25.1 billion, P/E ratio of 13.6 and forward P/E ratio of 10.4. The stock has total debt/equity ratio of 0.38 and Beta of 1.02.
- [By Fitz Gerald]
In Q4 2010, Buffett sold 6.5 million shares at an average price of $23.08. He owns zero shares, currently.
In FY 2011 through January, revenues grew by 3.38% to $48.81 billion, after dropping by 2.09% in FY 2010 and decreasing by 0.11% in FY 2009. The EBT margin improved to 6.61% from 5.98%. GAAP EPS increased by 17.36% to $1.42, after dropping by 18.79% in FY 2009. In FY 2012, analysts expect between non-GAAP EPS to be between $1.65 and $1.79, or increases between 14.5% to 24.3% from the non-GAAP EPS of $1.44 posted in FY 2010. Revenues are also expected to be between $50.3 billion and $53.1 billion, or an increase between 3.0% and 8.7%. The next earnings release is on May 16, when analysts forecast between $0.34 and $0.40, or increases between 8.8% and 17.6% from the non-GAAP EPS of $0.34 for Q1 2010.
LOW shares trade with a price to sales multiple of 0.8. From 2001 to 2006, the multiples were 1.7, 1.2, 1.5, 1.3, 1.3, and 1.0, respectively. It is within the realm of reasonable possibilities for Lowe’s to grow revenues and EPS in the high single digits, so we would say that these shares are undervalued, and should be near 1.0 times sales per share. Keep an eye out for Q1 2011 earnings. The company also has a debt to equity ratio of 0.36.
Hot Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Group 1 Automotive Inc. (GPI)
Group 1 Automotive, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and sale of automotive products and services. It sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts. The company also provides vehicle financing services; service and insurance contract services; and automotive maintenance and repair services. The company has operations located in metropolitan areas in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas in the United States; and in the towns of Brighton, Hailsham, and Worthing in the United Kingdom. As of October 25, 2012, it owned and operated 121 automotive dealerships, 158 franchises, and 30 collision centers in the United States and the United Kingdom that offer 32 brands of automobiles. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
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