2 Retailers The Analysts Are Buying

 | Jun 16, 2022 02:52AM ET

h2 Retail Isn’t Dead, It’s Just Hurting

The retail sector has had a hard time of it the last few months, but now there are some opportunities emerging. Companies like Skechers and G-III Apparel corrected more than 35% on mounting fears of narrowing margins and slowing sales, but those fears were misplaced.

Now, with the Q1 results in the bag and at least a favorable, if not bullish, outlook for the second half, the analysts are starting to pick the winners from among the wreckage.

It may be a few quarters before the broader market gets its feet back under it, until then we expect to see these names outperform their peers and the S&P 500.

h2 1. G-III Re-Initiated At Barclays/h2

G-III Apparel Group (NASDAQ:GIII) was re-initiated by Barclays with a rating of Hold. This amounts to a Buy in our book and comes with a price target of $22. This target is in-line with the current price action and suggests a bottom, or at least a floor, may be in for the stock.

In the eyes of analyst Paul Kerney, the Q1 results were favorable and show the risk/reward outlook to be balanced. He believes a shift away from “casualization” and into more fashion-oriented workwear will help support the company in the near term but there are industry-wide risks that may weigh on the stock longer term.

Among those are rising inventory levels and slowing retail sales that may lead to wholesale order cancelations and increased discounting. The consensus of the 3 analysts with current ratings is a firm Hold leaning toward Buy with a price target nearly 50% above the recent action.

What spurred the re-initiation? G-III Apparrel had a strong Q1 in which it beat both the top and bottom line estimate and raised guidance. According to company CEO Morris Goldfarb,

“Our strong momentum continued in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 exceeding both our top and bottom-line guidance, despite a challenging environment. Consumers are refreshing their wardrobes as they return to work and resume social activities, driving demand for our products.”

In our view, G-III is among the better-positioned retailers due to its brand recognition and strong execution via DTC channels.