The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Express, Levi Strauss, The Children's Place, Tilly's and Macy's

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 1, 2021 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Express, Inc. EXPR, Levi Strauss & Co. LEVI, The Children’s Place, Inc. PLCE, Tilly’s, Inc. TLYS and Macy’s, Inc. M.

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

5 Retail Stocks to Buy for a Promising Holiday Season

The retail sector is still struggling to get back on its feet, with the COVID-19 pandemic hampering business for almost one-and-a-half years now. However, sentiments have been upbeat lately with the holiday season approaching.

The holiday season is one of the most important periods for retailers in their annual calendar. And predictions are that sales will once again be robust, with Black Friday projected to be the biggest shopping day this holiday season.

Retailers Bank on Black Friday

According to Sensormatic Solutions, Black Friday, which is on Nov 26, is expected to be the busiest shopping day this year. Although U.S. retail store traffic is down 18.6% this year from 2019, the overall holiday season is likely to be productive for retailers.

Black Friday, Super Saturday and the Thursday before Christmas generally take the first three sports for the busiest shopping days every holiday season. This year too, Black Friday is likely to lead the race. Moreover, the holiday season will begin early this year, much like in 2020, which will likely help retailers even more.

For the past few years, the holiday season has been starting much before Thanksgiving. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, the "75 Days of Christmas" holiday season will begin in October, with sales expected to grow 6.8% during this period.

Great Holiday Season Expected

According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, this holiday season is expected to hit a record high both in terms of percentage points and dollar gains, despite the pandemic. Sales between Nov 1 through Christmas Eve are projected to rise 7.4% from 2020 and 11.1% from 2019. Pent-up savings coupled with government stimulus are likely to strengthen the spending power of consumers, according to the study.

E-commerce, which has been driving holiday sales for the past few years, will once again play an important role. With the pandemic far from over, people will prefer shopping online whether or not they have taken the COVID-19 vaccine. Online revenues are expected to jump 7.6% year over year and 57% from 2019.

Not just the holiday season, e-commerce has been helping retail for quite some time now. Online sales in August grew 8.1% month over month and 82% from the previous year.

Our Choices

The retail sector is slowly trying to get back on its feet and the upcoming holiday season is likely to help boost sales. This is thus the right opportunity to invest in retail stocks that have a strong online presence. We have shortlisted five stocks for you. Each of the stocks carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Express is a specialty retailer of women's and men's apparel in the United States. The company operates retail outlets in high-traffic shopping malls, lifestyle centers and street locations across the United States.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 95.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 56.5% over the past 30 days. Express carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Levi Strauss & Co. designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. and Denizen brands.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 14.4% over the past 30 days. Levi Strauss has a Zacks Rank #2.

The Children’s Place sells apparel, footwear, accessories and other items for children; designs; contracts to manufacture; and sells merchandise under the brand names “The Children’s Place,” “Place,” “Baby Place” and “Gymboree.”

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 7.9% over the past 30 days. The Children’s Place carries a Zacks Rank #1.

Tilly’s is a specialty retailer in the action sports industry selling clothing, shoes and accessories. The company distributes t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, shorts, pants, jeans, sweaters, swimwear, shoes and accessories for men, women and kids through its website.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 27.4% over the past 30 days. Tillys sports a Zacks Rank #1.

Macy’s is an omnichannel retail organization operating stores, websites and mobile applications under three brands Macy's, Bloomingdale's and bluemercury. It trades in a wide range of merchandise, including men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings and other consumer goods in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.5% over the past 30 days. Macy’s sports a Zacks Rank #1.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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Macys, Inc. (M) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
The Childrens Place, Inc. (PLCE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Express, Inc. (EXPR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Tillys, Inc. (TLYS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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