Kmart, Target Same-Store Sales Increase in March

Target(TGT Quote) said its same-store sales for March narrowly missed Wall Street's expectations, but the retailer reaffirmed its first-quarter earnings expectations, while Kmart(KM Quote) reported comparable sales for the month that were in line with analysts' projections.

Target said same-store sales rose 2.4% in the period, just below the 2.6% increase projected by analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call. Total retail sales rose to $3.21 billion from $2.96 billion in the year-ago period. "While April represents an important month for overall results in the first quarter, we continue to expect our earnings per share to increase slightly-to-modestly, consistent with our prior guidance," Target said. ...