Retail Stocks: Retail stocks mixed after June sales

By William Spain, MarketWatch

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — A mixed bag of gainers and losers characterized the trading in retail stocks Thursday as a raft of June sales data showed about half of the companies that reported receipts posting better-than-expected results while the rest came up short.

Hot weather helped some consumer buying patterns, as did a calendar shift in the timing of the Memorial Day holiday, but those factors were offset by disappointing economic news that has weighed on spending.

In all, the Thomson Reuters Same Store Sales Index registered a 3.1% comparable sales gain for June, slightly missing a final expectation of 3.2%.

This came even as the gauge posted its tenth consecutive positive showing, noted Thomson Reuters analyst Jharonne Martis.

“Seasonably warm weather, combined with the summer school break, increased mall traffic, benefiting teen retailers and department stores,” Martis wrote. “In addition, a good Memorial Day weekend boosted business, helping some June comps (at the expense of May), on the holiday’s shift to June this year.”

Among those companies missing their monthly growth forecasts was No. 2 U.S. discounter Target Corp.
/quotes/comstock/13*!tgt/quotes/nls/tgt
(TGT
49.67,
-0.76,
-1.51%)
, which reported an increase in same-store sales — those at outlets open at least a year — of 1.7%, short of the 2.7% gain expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

“Sales remained relatively soft for the second month,” said Gregg Steinhafel, chief executive, noting that demand for apparel, food, health care and beauty products was strong while sales of electronics, video games, music and movies were weaker.

Shares of Target slipped 1.4% to $49.72.

Meanwhile, shares of teen retailer Buckle Inc.
/quotes/comstock/13*!bke/quotes/nls/bke
(BKE
28.40,
-3.32,
-10.45%)
traded down 9% at $28.95 after it reported a 7.3% sales drop, though analysts were expecting an increase.

Also lower, Wet Seal
/quotes/comstock/15*!wtsl.a/quotes/nls/wtsla
(WTSLA
3.33,
-0.21,
-5.93%)
moved down 1% at $3.50 after it posted a deeper-than-expected sales decline of 3.6%, citing “inconsistent traffic patterns” and an “aggressive promotional environment.” The company added that it now expects second-quarter profit to come in at the low end of its previously forecast range.

A major gainer, shares of Abercrombie & Fitch
/quotes/comstock/13*!anf/quotes/nls/anf
(ANF
35.16,
+2.26,
+6.87%)
rallied nearly 8% to $35.49 as same-store sales jumped 9% — more than triple the 2.8% analyst average. Total sales for the five weeks ended July 3 increased 23% to $277.3 million.

Also on the bright side, J.C. Penney
/quotes/comstock/13*!jcp/quotes/nls/jcp
(JCP
23.09,
+1.31,
+6.01%)
bounced more than 6% to $23.15 after reporting same-store sales for June rose 4.5%, outpacing the forecast of 3.4% as compiled by Thomson Reuters. Total sales for the five weeks ended July 3 increased 3.7% to $1.55.

And Limited Brands Inc.
/quotes/comstock/13*!ltd/quotes/nls/ltd
(LTD
23.90,
+0.22,
+0.93%)
, the parent of the Victoria’s Secret chain, said same-store sales rose 6%, almost double the consensus expectation of a 3.2% boost.

William Spain is a MarketWatch staff writer in Chicago.

Retail Stocks: Retail stocks mixed after June sales