Topic: Growth Stocks

Stock Pickers Digest Hotline – Friday, December 11, 2015

Article Excerpt

REITMANS (CANADA) LTD., $4.02, symbol RET.A on Toronto, owns 775 women’s clothing stores across Canada. The chain consists of 332 Reitmans, 136 Penningtons, 107 Addition Elle, 83 RW & Co., 68 Thyme Maternity, 17 Hyda and 32 Smart Set outlets. It also has 21 Thyme Maternity boutiques in Canadian Babies “R” Us stores. In the three months ended October 31, 2015, Reitmans’ sales rose slightly, to $240.3 million from $238.3 million a year earlier. Same-store sales gained 7.6%, with brick-and-mortar stores increasing 4.8% and e-commerce jumping 72.2%. Reitmans lost $269,000, or nil per share, compared to a profit of $12.9 million, or $0.20 a share. The high U.S. dollar hurt profit margins, and the latest quarter included a $4.3-million loss on the market value of the company’s securities portfolio. These factors offset cost-cutting measures, including layoffs at its head office. The retailer’s balance sheet remains strong: it holds cash and securities of $147.8 million, or $2.29 a share, and its long-term debt is…