Men's Wearhouse Shares Rise On 1Q Earnings

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.