TheStreet.com

I Markets I
Kohl's Tops Department Stores in Poll
By Jeanine Poggi
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
11/16/09 07:32 AM EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Kohl's (KSS:NYSE) was undoubtedly the winner in the department store sector this week -- just as users of TheStreet expected it would be.

According to our weekly poll, 39.5% of respondents said Kohl's would outperform the sector, and that it did.

The department store posted a 20% jump in third-quarter profit, earning $193 million, or 63 cents a share. This easily topped Wall Street's expectations of 61 cents a share.

Kohl's sales increased 6.5% to $4.1 billion, while same-store sales grew 2.4%.

But despite the better-than-anticipated results, Kohl's fourth-quarter earnings could still come in shy of analysts' forecast.

The company upped its outlook to $1.14 to $1.24 a share, against a consensus of $1.23 a share.

Kohl's ended the week down 2% to $55.52

Macy's (M:NYSE) ranked second with 22.1% of the vote. The company said it narrowed its loss in the third quarter and raised its outlook by as much as 26 cents.

Macy's also said it is starting to benefit from the national rollout of its My Macy's localization program. While the company's same-store sales are still in negative territory, down 3.6%, these declines are easing.

Macy's also cited strength at its higher-end Bloomingdale's stores, and online.

While Macy's upped its full-year outlook in the range of $1.01 to $1.06 a share, better than the prior guidance between 70 cents and 80 cents a share, it was still below Wall Street's expectations.

Shares of Macy's closed the week lower, dropping 6% to $18.01.

In a close third was J.C. Penney (JCP:NYSE) , with 21.2% of the vote.

While the mid-tier department store reported a 78% plunge in third-quarter profit, it was predominantly due to costs related to funding its pension plan.

J.C. Penney lifted its full-year outlook to 93 cents to $1.08 a share, up from a prior guidance of 90 cents. Analysts predict the company will earn $1.05 for the year.

J.C. Penney saw shares soar after the revised guidance, and ended the week up 2.3% to $31.21.

Sears (SHLD:NYSE) placed fourth with 12.8% of the vote. The department store is slated to report its third quarter results on Nov. 19.

Analysts expect Sears to record a loss of $1.09 on revenue of $9.89 billion.

Sears has been attempting to compete with traditional discounters like Wal-Mart Stores (WMT:NYSE) , Target (TGT:NYSE) and Amazon (AMZN:NYSE) by announcing promotions for the holidays on merchandise like books and toys.

Shares of Sears ended the week higher, spiking 10% to $74.75.

Dillard's (DDS:NYSE) came in last place with just 4.5% of the vote.

In October, the department store reported an 8% decline in same-store sales, in-line with consensus.

Shares of Sears closed the week at $13.19, off 1.3%.

-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York

Follow TheStreet.com on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Try a 30-day FREE trial to RealMoney.com!