Staples Inc. (SPLS): Today's Featured Specialty Retail Laggard

Staples (SPLS) pushed the Specialty Retail industry lower today making it today's featured Specialty Retail laggard. The industry as a whole closed the day down 1.3%. By the end of trading, Staples fell 16 cents (-1.3%) to $12.30 on average volume. Throughout the day, 14.6 million shares of Staples exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 10.6 million shares. The stock ranged in price between $12.25-$12.52 after having opened the day at $12.48 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $12.47. Other company's within the Specialty Retail industry that declined today were: Penske Automotive Group (PAG), down 6.3%, Bluefly (BFLY), down 5.4%, Zale Corporation (ZLC), down 4.8%, and Lithia Motors (LAD), down 4.4%.

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Staples, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an office products company. The company offers various office supplies and services, office machines and related products, computers and related products, and office furniture under Staples, Quill, and other proprietary brands. Staples has a market cap of $8.59 billion and is part of the services sector. The company has a P/E ratio of nine, equal to the average specialty retail industry P/E ratio and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are down 10.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday. Currently there are eight analysts that rate Staples a buy, one analyst rates it a sell, and six rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Staples as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its attractive valuation levels, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including unimpressive growth in net income, poor profit margins and weak operating cash flow.

• You can view the full Staples Ratings Report.

• Use our specialty retail section to find industry-relevant news.
• Or find some new ideas from our top rated stocks lists.

For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the specialty retail industry could consider SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) while those bearish on the specialty retail industry could consider ProShares Ultra Sht Consumer Goods (SZK).

• Find other investment ideas from our top rated ETFs lists.

For more information on Staples Inc. click any of the following:

• Staples Inc. Stock Price

• Staples Inc. Analyst Ratings

• Staples Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• Staples Inc. Earnings

• Staples Inc. Ratio Comparison

• Staples Inc. Growth Rates

• Staples Inc. Balance Sheet

• Staples Inc. Cash Flow

• Staples Inc. Income Statement