FeedPosted Feb 1st 2010 12:50PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Kohl's Corp (KSS), Stocks to Buy

Retailer Kohl's Corp's (
KSS) stock has dipped in the past two months, and typically that would be a concern with a retailer, but not this solid retail sector performer, which is a major reason I'm reiterating my buy rating for the company's shares, first recommended
on April 26, 2009, at a price of $43.862.
Simply, Kohl's has the right business model at the right time. Kohl's is a moderate-price retailer that's held its own amid the recession, and will now benefit from a wider customer spectrum as the economic expansion continues.
Continue reading Kohl's: Pull-Back Is a Buy Opportunity
Posted Jan 6th 2010 11:20AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, 3M Corporation (MMM), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Dow Chemical (DOW), Analyst Initiations, AOL (AOL)
Analyst Upgrades
- Goldman upgraded 3M Company (MMM) to conviction buy from buy, citing positive global industrial data, underappreciated organic growth and earnings momentum, among other reasons. The firm raised its target to $105 from $100.
- Citigroup upgraded Manpower (MAN) to buy from hold to reflect improvements in the temporary employment sector. The firm raised its target price on shares to $69 from $61.
- Baird upgraded Cerner (CERN) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $104 from $89 based on Q4 bookings momentum, positive newsflow and reasonable valuation.
- Dow Chemical (DOW) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
- Magna International (MGA) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
Continue reading Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: AOL, DOW, KSS, LMT, MAN, MMM, SONC ...
Posted Jan 3rd 2010 1:20PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Industry, Costco Wholesale (COST), Gap Inc (GPS), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF), Urban Outfitters (URBN)
This week, the world's top retailers will tell investors how the much-discussed holiday season went. Analysts expect a year-over-year gain of 1.3% for stores open at least a year, which of course uses a dismal 2008 as a benchmark.
The holiday shopping season is the last chance retailers get to pump up their financial statements before the close of their fiscal year, which usually comes at the end of January. For some retailers, up to 40% of their revenue comes in the weeks heading into Christmas.
Continue reading Retail Results to Come this Week, but Spring Is the Test
Posted Dec 28th 2009 3:30PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Internet, Marketing and Advertising, Target Corp. (TGT), Best Buy (BBY), Kohl's Corp (KSS), News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World, Technology

Revenue hasn't been as fast to change as end-user sentiment, but all that looks like it's coming to an end next year.
Social networking site
Facebook, which passed 350 million users last month, is poised to move ahead of rival
MySpace in ad revenue in 2010,
according to a report from eMarketer. The research firm expects Facebook to rake in $605 million in ad spend next year, compared to $385 million for MySpace, which is a News Corp. (
NWS) property.
According to Debra Aho Williamson, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of
Social Network Ad Spending: 2010 Outlook, "As more marketers incorporate social networks in their business, they will no longer look at them as siloed destinations. Instead, they will look to increase the impact of their social network presence by linking it to other marketing initiatives, both online and offline."
Continue reading Social Network Ad Spending Jumps in '09 and Will Keep Rising
Posted Dec 8th 2009 10:00AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Market Matters, Target Corp. (TGT), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Nordstrom, Inc (JWN), Jones Apparel Group (JNY), Stocks to Buy, Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says Macy's turnaround is evident in its stores and it will soon be evident in its numbers. Why in heck is Macy's (
M) (
Cramer's Take) only a $6 billion company? Here's a department store chain that's getting growth back, that's aspirational as all get out, that has a management that understands that it needs to be regional in product but not in duplicative management, and it gets no respect whatsoever.
Yet we love the strip mall guys like Kohl's (
KSS) (
Cramer's Take) and Target (
TGT) (
Cramer's Take) because they are still throwing stores up all over the place and have perceived growth characteristics. We are willing to pay twice Nordstrom's (
JWN) (
Cramer's Take) growth rate for a company that's not that much better than Macy's, if at all. Twenty-three times Nordstrom's 12% growth vs. 15 times Macy's 10% growth makes no sense to me when I expect Macy's' growth to accelerate because of the My Macy's localizing initiative.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Macy's has undone mistakes of the past
Posted Nov 29th 2009 11:40AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Internet, Target Corp. (TGT), Best Buy (BBY), Black Friday, Office Depot (ODP), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Technology
For retailers that jumped on the social media bandwagon this year, the impact was salient. How could they not be? With many consumers already engaged with tools such as Twitter and Facebook, the sellers didn't have a choice but to engage them in this manner.
Social media has become another way for shoppers to compare deals and find the bargains that turn them on ... especially in a tough economic environment where making your dollar go further makes a profound difference. The rapid growth in these tools, especially this year, has made them a viable alternative for bargain hunters ahead of the holidays.
Continue reading Social media has impact on Black Friday for retailers and consumers
Posted Nov 28th 2009 10:00AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Wal-Mart (WMT), Target Corp. (TGT), Best Buy (BBY), Gap Inc (GPS), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF), Urban Outfitters (URBN)
Stores were busy on Black Friday, as deals lured recession-weary consumers out of their homes. The spending was cautious, but the crowds and transactions signaled strength.
Nonetheless, retailers are still concerned that the momentum is only temporary. With consumer spending still under pressure because of high unemployment, there's a risk that holiday shopping may not reach the levels the stores would like to see. The day after Thanksgiving is usually the hottest of the year and can account for close to 20% of annual retail sales.
Continue reading Black Friday busy, but momentum may not hold
Posted Nov 25th 2009 10:30AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Wal-Mart (WMT), Market Matters, Sears Holdings (SHLD), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Stocks to Buy, Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says you can't ignore the positive outlook of Phillips-Van Heusen's CEO. Can you be as bearish about retail if the company that has almost half the dress shirt business in the country, the one that has more than half the neckwear in this country, the one that has more than 600 stores and is in Kohl's (
KSS) (
Cramer's Take), Wal-Mart (
WMT) (
Cramer's Take), Sears (
SHLD) (
Cramer's Take) and just about everyone else, tells you that things are booming?
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: This bullish retail story looks like a good fit
Posted Nov 13th 2009 6:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Aetna Inc (AET), Gap Inc (GPS), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)
Back in August, I discussed my amazement at Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF). The stock just didn't seem to be acting in a manner which reflected the fundamentals of the business it represents. Well, my bout of amazement continues, because shares of the retailer are up 9% as of this writing on the latest earnings report. One that didn't impress me.
For the third quarter, Abercrombie made, on a reported basis, 44 cents per diluted share compared to 72 cents per diluted share in the year-ago period. After adjustments, earnings came in at 30 cents per share. Okay, that profit drop is bad enough, but wait till I get to the really bad stuff. Which would be revenues. Total sales declined 15%, but same-store sales were even worse: they plunged off the proverbial cliff, falling 22%.
Continue reading Abercrombie & Fitch: A momentum play after Q3 release?
Posted Nov 5th 2009 9:30AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL), Pfizer (PFE), Market Matters, McDonald's (MCD), Caterpillar (CAT), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Chevron Corp (CVX), General Mills (GIS), Procter and Gamble (PG), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Polo Ralph Lauren'A' (RL), Stocks to Buy, Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says you can be bearish, but you have to admit when you're wrong. Oh boy, I hit a nerve. My last two days of donning the bear suit and imitating the bears has brought on a cacophony of critics, all of whom think that I am attacking them personally! That's right, they think I have read them, seen them and heard them and that I am spoofing them or making fun of them.
Moreover, they think that I am wildly bullish and that I am mocking them for not wanting to buy things here.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: All I'm asking for is rigor
Posted Oct 9th 2009 4:20PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Target Corp. (TGT), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Economic Data, Limited Brands (LTD)
Consumers are finally spending more, with September posting the first gain in more than a year. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) found that retail sales inched 0.1% higher last month. It doesn't seem like much, but a gain when you anticipate a fall is good news magnified. But, it came at the expense of great deals and other tools to entice somewhat hesitant customers into stores.
Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) and Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) reported sales increases in September for stores open more than a year. J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP), Macy's (NYSE: M) and Target (NYSE: TGT) posted declines, but they were better than expected. Delayed school openings thanks to a late Labor Day helped push to September sales that might have occurred in August otherwise.
Of course, all eyes are on the coming holiday season. The National Retail Federation forecasts U.S. consumer spending of $437.6 billion – up only slightly from $433.7 billion four years ago. So, we still have a lot of ground to make up before we can celebrate a recovery. As long as the situation is staying steady, though, we'll at least have a solid starting point.
Posted Oct 9th 2009 9:30AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Market Matters, Penney (J.C.) (JCP), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Nucor Corp (NUE), Economic Data, Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the relentless ascent can only point to a belief that Congress will put jobs on the front burner.
Washington's listening. I think that Washington has had its fill of health care talk and is anxious to focus on jobs. President Obama wants to dither now with carbon capture, content that the stimulus plan, however bogus it was, is doing the job. But Congress senses that they are 13 months from a debacle and they are going to bring employment to the front burner.
That's what I think the market is saying. When I spoke to Dan DiMicco last night, the CEO from
Nucor (
NUE) (
Cramer's Take), he showed devastating evidence of the real unemployment, now at about 18%, and the lack of job creation coming out of this recession compared to the last four recessions.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: The market sees the light on employment
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