L BRANDS INC. $54 (New York symbol LB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 291.0 million; Market cap: $15.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.lb.com) owns the Victoria’s Secret lingerie chain and the Bath & Body Works personal care products stores. Smaller chains include La Senza (lingerie) in Canada and Henri Bendel (jewellery and accessories) in the U.S.
The company’s sales rose 3.2% in March 2014, to $923.7 million from $894.8 million in March 2013.
However, that’s mainly due to promotional discounts, as cold weather hurt customer traffic. Overall same-store sales fell 1%. Victoria’s Secret reported that its same-store sales declined 1% during the month, while its online and catalogue sales rose 1%. Bath & Body Works’ same-store sales fell 2%.
L Brands is still a hold.