NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Staples Inc. (SPLS) are down by 2.27% to $16.12 in late afternoon trading on Friday, following the company's 2014 fourth quarter earnings, which showed a decline in sales for the eighth straight quarter in a row.

The office supply retailer said sales for the most recent quarter fell by 4% to $5.7 billion when compared to the 2013 fourth quarter. The company blamed a stronger dollar and poor demand for computers and accessories for the drop in sales.

On a non-GAAP basis net earnings were 31 cents per share for the latest quarter versus the 33 cents reported for the year ago period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting adjusted earnings of 30 cents per share on revenue of $5.76 billion for the quarter.

Staples most recent decline in quarterly sales sheds light on the company's need to close its $3.6 billion deal to acquire Office Depot (ODP) - Get Report, which was announced in February, Reuters reports.

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Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates STAPLES INC as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate STAPLES INC (SPLS) a BUY. This is driven by multiple strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its compelling growth in net income, attractive valuation levels, good cash flow from operations, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins."

You can view the full analysis from the report here: SPLS Ratings Report

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