If last year’s lukewarm housing-market recovery starts to heat up and is sustained throughout 2014, Pier 1 Imports Inc.(NYSE: PIR) could break out of its slump and begin reaping the benefits of a red hot home-goods sector stimulated by growing numbers of new homebuyers.
According to a recent report by Wash.-D.C. financial publisher Kiplinger, this is a real possibility. Kiplinger forecasts that new-home sales are likely to soar by a solid 15%, or 500,000 in 2014. The company also projects that the time it takes to sell a house will continue to diminish. This would be a continuation of a 2013 trend where new homes stayed on the market for an average of 3.1 months before being sold, far less time than the average 5.5-month average for the last 30 years.
So, what’s this mean for Pier 1?
A flood of new homebuyers intent on decorating their new dwellings is just what the Fort-Worth, TX home-goods retailer needs. That’s because Pier I has just come off a disappointing holiday selling season. Its CEO Alex W. Smith blamed continued slow traffic caused by wintry weather for the lethargic 1.3% increase in same store sales for the five-week period ended Jan. 4, 2014, compared to the five-week period ended Jan. 5, 2013
Online presence must grow
Another way the company could improve its sales is by growing its online presence via Pier1.com. The popular site ended up accounting for about 4% of the company’s total sales in December.
So far this year, Pier 1 is getting mixed reviews from analysts covering its stock.
While investment research firm Zacks on Jan. 15 downgraded its rating on Pier 1 from "Neutral" to "Underperform" in a research note, three other analysts have given it a
hold rating and seven have given Pier 1 a buy rating.
Pier 1 is scheduled to pay its declared quarterly dividend on Wed., Feb. 5th. Stockholders of record on Wed., Jan. 22nd will be given a dividend of 6 cents per share. This represents a 24-cent dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, Jan. 17th. This is higher than Pier 1’s previous quarterly dividend of 5 cents.
On Jan. 22, PIR’s share price closed at $20.05, down 40 cents from its close of $20.45 the previous day.
Find out what could be the best investor’s move when it comes to PIR by getting the complete report here, or by cutting and pasting the following link in your Web browser:
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Return to glory days
During the tech bubble of 1999, Concur Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQGS: CNQR), with a 52-week high of $114.32, crashed along with the market when its share price hit a bottom on Mar. 30, 2001 of 31 cents.
But at today’s market close, the Bellevue, Wash. provider of cloud-based travel-and-expense management solutions, has returned to its glory days, closing at $112.55
Its unprecedented comeback proves the adage that you can’t keep a good company down. Concur is now reached its second zenith because it has created and continued to improve a quality service that is needed by businesses large and small. Its diverse customer base includes cereal maker Kellogg’s, Internet-phone service provider Skype and apparel giant Abercrombie & Fitch. Concur has also risen from the ashes because of the quality of its core management and sales force. Even when it had fallen from it heights and became a penny stock, Concur's basic value proposition stayed intact.
Expanding its market
In a recent interview, Concur's CEO Rajeev Singh discussed the possibility of the company expanding its services to the consumer market. This is probably one of the subjects that will be discussed during the company's upcoming fiscal 2014 first quarter earnings Webcast scheduled for Jan. 29, 2014 beginning at 2:00 p.m. PT.
On Jan. 22, CNQR's share price closed at $112.55, up $1.12 cents from its closing price of $111.43 the previous day.
Find out what could be the best investor’s move when it comes to CNQR by getting the complete report here, or by cutting and pasting the following link in your Web browser:
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Crowd needed
BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: BJRI) found its 143 restaurants plagued by the same aliment that has been hurting the fourth-quarter results of many U.S. retailers: low traffic.
The Huntington, Beach, Calf.-based company recently said it anticipated its fourth-quarter earnings to be lower than analysts’ estimates. BJ’s blamed the latest miss on less customers coming through its doors. The number of people ordering meals from it restaurants fell 2.3% at the same time as their average purchase shrank by 0.4%, compared to the prior year.
The company that has a host of casual restaurants under such brands as BJ’s Pizza & Grill, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery and BJ’s Restaurant added that discounts and promotions used to attract more foot traffic was responsible for lowering its average purchase.
If there is one good piece of news out there for BJ’s, it is that 2014 restaurant traffic is expected to improve, according to at least one research firm.
NPD Group, a New York-based market research firm, is forecasting a 1% increase in overall restaurant traffic and a 3% gain in average spending for 2014. If the forecast comes to fruition, BJ stands to benefit.
On Jan. 22, BJRI's share price closed at $29.64, up 14 cents from its closing price of $29.50 the previous day.
Find out what could be the best investor’s move when it comes to CNQR by getting the complete report here, or by cutting and pasting the following link in your Web browser:
http://www.sixfigurestockpicks.com
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