Men’s Wearhouse Not a Guarantee After Poor Report

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Men’s clothing retailer Men’s Wearhouse (NYSE:MW) reported earnings for the quarter ending October 31, 2012 on Wednesday after the market closed. Men’s Wearhouse said it earned 95 cents per share in the quarter; analysts expected 97 cents per share. Revenues came in at $631 million, matching expectations.

Men’s Wearhouse also reduced guidance for its fiscal year profits, saying it now expects them to be the range of $2.57 to$2.63 per share. Previous guidance had the company making a range of $2.74 to $2.80 per share. Shares of Men’s Wearhouse were down on the news, and are down just under 1% over the past 5 day trading period, and are down nearly 3% year-to-date.

Analysis

The report from Men’s Wearhouse  was not all that bad, but the downward guidance slammed shares. With the exception of some specialty retailers, the retail sector is slipping at the tail-end of earnings season with a number of notable names showing weakness.

The news from Men’s Wearhouse then is not all that surprising. Heading into the report, its shares were drifting lower, but still well above a 52-week low of $26 per share reached this past summer. At its current level just below $32 per share, shares trade for 12 times the mid-point of the guided current fiscal year profits. Estimates for the next fiscal year are likely to be lower.

Reducing the fiscal 2013 estimates by the same percentage as the reduction in guidance yields a profit growth number of 12%. No matter how cheap Men’s Wearhouse makes its suits, I personally believe the company to be fighting an upstream battle in men’s clothing trends. The suit is passé in a mobile world. I would play this one on the downside from here.

Action

Own MW Puts with a six-month expiration as shares are likely to drift lower over that time.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2012/12/mens-wearhouse-sinks-after-poor-report-mw/.

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