Hold on to these two retail chains

Article Excerpt

AEROPOSTALE INC. $13.20 (New York symbol ARO; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (646-485-5410; www.aeropostale.com; Shares outstanding: 81.3 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; No dividends paid) is a mall-based retailer of casual clothing and accessories. It now has 994 stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, and mainly targets 14- to 17-year-old women and men. Aeropostale’s 99 P.S. from Aeropostale stores in the U.S. are aimed at seven- to 12-year-old elementary-school children. In the three months ended October 27, 2012, Aeropostale’s sales rose 1.6%, to $605.9 million from $596.5 million a year earlier. Same-store sales fell 2%, compared with a 9% decline a year ago. Sales from the company’s e-commerce business increased 12%, to $51.1 million from $45.7 million. Aeropostale’s earnings rose 3.5%, to $24.9 million from $24.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 3.3%, to $0.31 from $0.30, on fewer shares outstanding. The latest earnings also beat the consensus estimate of $0.29 a share. Teenage customers, especially those affected by the…