Men's Wearhouse Shares Rise On 1Q Earnings
The Associated Press
06/09/09 - 02:36 PM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) Shares of men's clothing retailer Men's Wearhouse Inc. jumped on Tuesday, after the company reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results.
The company said cost-cutting measures helped offset a 6 percent sales decline. Profit fell 47 percent, but came out ahead of analyst expectations.
The Houston company also gave second-quarter earnings guidance of 56 cents to 60 cents per share, while analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, predict a profit of 56 cents per share.
Stifel Nicolaus analyst Richard E. Jaffe said in a note to investors that Men's Wearhouse, which he rates "Hold," is "running a tight ship."
"The earnings-per-share beat was driven by tighter expense control and stronger-than-anticipated sales," he wrote in a note to investors on Tuesday, in particular a designer suit sale.
Shares rose $2.98, or 16.7 percent, to $20.85 during afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $8.33 and $26.43 during the past 52 weeks.