Limited Brands Inc. Stock Downgraded (LTD)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Limited Brands (NYSE:LTD) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, expanding profit margins and solid stock price performance. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income and weak operating cash flow.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Regardless of the somewhat mixed results with the debt-to-equity ratio, the company's quick ratio of 1.12 is sturdy.
• 46.30% is the gross profit margin for LIMITED BRANDS INC which we consider to be strong. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 5.80% trails the industry average.
• Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 over the same period, despite the company's weak earnings results. Despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year, there is currently no conclusive evidence that warrants the purchase or sale of this stock.
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and greatly underperformed compared to the Specialty Retail industry average. The net income has decreased by 24.6% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, dropping from $165.17 million to $124.56 million.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly decreased to -$183.00 million or 916.66% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing to the industry average, the firm's growth rate is much lower.

Limited Brands, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of women's intimate and other apparel, beauty, and personal care products and accessories primarily in the United States and Canada. The company has a P/E ratio of 16.3, equal to the average retail industry P/E ratio and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Limited has a market cap of $12.42 billion and is part of the services sector and retail industry. Shares are up 6.1% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

You can view the full Limited Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on L Brands Inc click any of the following:

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• L Brands Inc Analyst Ratings

• L Brands Inc Key Stats & Profile

• L Brands Inc Earnings

• L Brands Inc Ratio Comparison

• L Brands Inc Growth Rates

• L Brands Inc Balance Sheet

• L Brands Inc Cash Flow

• L Brands Inc Income Statement