Retail Winners: Williams-Sonoma, Dillard's

Retailers are rallying along with the rest of the market following the passing of the health care reform bill.

By Jeanine Poggi , Mar 22, 2010 4:17 PM EDT

NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) -- Retailers are rallying following the passage of the highly anticipated health care bill.

One of the day's biggest gainers is

Williams-Sonoma

(WSM) - Get Report

, which is soaring 12.3% to $27.12.

The home-furnishing retailer reported a profit that increased seven-fold

, easily topping Wall Street's expectations. Williams-Sonoma also issued a 2010 forecast that beat analysts' estimates.

Dollar Tree

(DLTR) - Get Report

is advancing 5.8% to $59.71 after it announced that it will repurchase $200 million of its shares. The buyback is part of a $500 million share acquisition program announced in 2007.

Dillard's

(DDS) - Get Report

was upgraded by Moody's Investor Services on Monday and changed its outlook to stable as the department store's operating performance and credit profile improves. The news sent shares of Dillard's climbing 4% to $23.76.

The rest of the department store sector is also on an upswing, with

Macy's

(M) - Get Report

gaining 4.8% to $21.89,

Sears

(SHLD)

increasing 3.9% to $107.62 and

Saks

(SKS)

jumping 5.7% to $8.77.

Tiffany

(TIF) - Get Report

made its way back into the green, after investors had punished the stock after the opening bell for what they considered an unimpressive fourth-quarter earnings report.

The jewelry retailer saw its fourth-quarter profit more than quadruple

, but results still missed analysts expectations. Tiffany's stock declined earlier today, as much of the good news was already factored into the stock, but rallied along with the rest of the market late in the afternoon, with the stock exchanging hands at $47.37.

Blockbuster

(BBI) - Get Report

is continuing to regain some of its momentum after it was pounded last week following a Securities and Exchange filing that said it

may need to file for bankruptcy

if cash levels don't improve.

But CEO James Keyes reassured last week that Blockbuster is no worse off now than it was last year, which seemed to soothe investor fears. Shares of the movie rental company are climbing 6.1% to 34 cents in Monday afternoon trading.

Other notable gainers include

Borders

(BGP)

, which is up 4.2% to $1.98,

HHGregg

(HGG)

, which is growing 6% to $24.43, and

Office Depot

(ODP) - Get Report

, which is rising 4.5% to $8.11.

-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York.

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